Recipe: Pecan-Crusted Crab Cakes (Canyon Cafe)

Courtesy of STL Today

Canyon Café
Canyon Cafe

Plaza Frontenac
1707 S. Lindbergh Blvd., Store #2
ST. LOUIS, MO 63131

PHONE (314) 872-3443

 

Pecan-Crusted Crab Cakes

 

Photo by John L. White

Yield: 14 crab cakes
1 pound crab meat
1 large sweet potato, roasted and peeled
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro
1 pinch ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
1/2 cup diced, roasted poblano peppers (see note)
1/2 cup fresh corn, roasted and cut from cob
1 cup chopped pecans
1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour, divided
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
Vegetable oil, for frying
Chipotle Remoulade (see recipe)



1. Place crab meat in a sieve over a bowl; press to remove excess moisture. Reserve liquid.

2. In a medium bowl, mash sweet potato; add mayonnaise, cream, cilantro, cinnamon, mustard and salt. Stir to mix well. Fold in drained crabmeat, poblanos and corn. Mixture should hold together when scooped into a spoon. If not, stir in enough liquid from the crab to bind mixture together.

3. Place pecans and panko in a blender or food processor; pulse just until well combined and uniformly chopped, but still slightly coarse.

4. Sprinkle a large platter or cutting board with about half the flour. In a shallow bowl, stir together egg and milk.

5. Use a 2-inch ice cream scoop or 1/3-cup measuring cup to scoop out portions of the crab mixture, pressing firmly. Pack tightly into patties about 1/2 inch thick; place on the flour-coated platter. When all the patties are formed, sprinkle remaining flour over, and press flour onto sides of patties. Shake off excess flour; dip each crab cake in egg mixture, then coat with breading mixture. Refrigerate, covered, at least 2 hours or as long as overnight before frying. (Unrefrigerated patties will fall apart when cooked.)

6. Pour about 1/2 inch oil into a skillet and heat to 350 degrees. Fry crab cakes about 4 minutes on each side, until golden brown and cooked through. Serve with Chipotle Remoulade.

Per crab cake (without remoulade): 270 calories; 19g fat; 3.5g saturated fat; 45mg cholesterol; 10g protein; 15g carbohydrate; 2g sugar; 2g fiber; 360mg sodium; 45mg calcium.

Note: To roast poblano peppers, place under broiler, on grill over hot coals or hold over an open gas flame until skin is charred; place in a paper bag and close the bag. When peppers are cooled, wipe most of the charred skin away with a paper towel, discard stem and seeds and chop flesh. You will need 1 or 2 poblanos to make 1/2 cup.

Chipotle Remoulade

Yield: about 1 1/4 cups
2 tablespoons chopped chipotle chiles in adobo sauce (see note)
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon sweet pickle relish
1 tablespoon finely minced celery
2 teaspoons finely minced onion
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic

1. In a blender or food processor, combine chipotles and mayonnaise; process by pulsing just until puréed. Transfer to a bowl.

2. Stir in relish, celery, onion, ketchup, Worcestershire and garlic. Cover and chill.

Per tablespoon: 85 calories; 9g fat; 1g saturated fat; 5mg cholesterol; no protein; 1g carbohydrate; 0.5g sugar; no fiber; 180mg sodium; 2mg calcium.

Note: Empty the contents of a can of chipotles in adobo sauce into a blender or food processor. Pulse until chopped. Freeze the unused portion.