Crab Cakes
Crab Cakes

Crab Cakes have been one of sea food lovers favorite dishes since the early 19th century.  They can be served as  an appetizer, dinner delicacy, or even a beach treat.  Crab Cakes are great to eat during a holiday, occasion, or any ordinary day.  The best recipes usually include fresh crab meat or lump crab, however, both those are highly non-kosher!  Next step: Kosherize this fabulous dish!

The most important part of kosherizing this meal is choosing the right kosher substitute for crab.  The most popular substitute to use are “crab sticks” made of pulverized white fish.  Dyna-Sea Imitation Crab Meat is the brand I used in my Crab Cakes.  Side Note:  The link has them on sale for $4.99 which is great because I paid $10.00.  You must unwrap each crab stick and cut in preparation for the recipe.

Williams Sonoma is one of my “go-to recipe” sites.  I used the Crab Cakes with Lemon Aioli recipe.  Minor changes:  added 1 onion finely chopped, 1/2 a red pepper finely chopped, and used an additional beaten egg.  Also added 1/2 tsp more garlic to the Aioli – season to taste.

LEMON AIOLI: (prepare first because you will need some for the crab cakes) 1 cup mayonnaise, finely grated lemon zest of 1 lemon, 2 Tbs fresh lemon juice, 1-1.5 clove garlic-minced, fine sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

Mix the mayo, lemon zest, lemon juice and garlic.  Season with salt and pepper.  Set aside 1/4 cup of the aioli for the crab cakes.  Cover and refrigerate the remaining aioli.

CRAB CAKES: 1lb imitation crab, 3/4 cup of panko, 1-2 eggs beaten, 1Tbs Dijon mustard, 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce, 1/4 tsp hot pepper sauce, 1 Tbs chopped flat-leaf parsley, 1/2 cup canola oil, 1 chopped onion, 1/2-1 chopped pepper, lemon wedged (for serving)

Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper for the uncooked crab cakes.  In a bowl, mix 1/4 cup of panko, 1/4 cup lemon aioli, the egg, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper sauce, and parsley.  Add the crabmeat and mix gently until combined.  Divide the mixture into equal cake portions.  Spread the remaining panko on a dish. Coat the prepared cakes evenly with panko and transfer onto the baking sheet.  Refrigerate for 15 mins.

In a large frying pan, heat the oil over medium-high until it shimmers.  Add the cakes and cook until golden brown (2-3 mins).  Flip the cakes until the other side is golden brown.  Using a slotted spatula, transfer cakes to paper towels to drain.

{Side Note:  crabs and imitation crabs are not amongst the healthiest of meals, you can substitute the crab with salmon though the taste will definitely differ.}

Serve the crab cakes with aioli and enjoy!

Bon Appetit!