Eric Giesbrecht’s Crab Cakes

July/August 2012

By way of Catch restaurant, where they originated. Eric Giesbrecht is Meta4 Foods and an alumnus of Catch. This is the “Ritchie Rich” of crab cakes – no potatoes here.

1 lb. Dungeness crab meat

2 lb. blue crab meat

olive oil

2 red bell peppers, diced small

1/2 head of fennel, diced small

1 small leek, white only, diced small

1 small white or yellow onion, diced small

1 T. red curry paste

1/4 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped

1/4 bunch parsley, roughly chopped

zest of 2 oranges and 3 lemons

1-1/2 lbs. scallop mousse (recipe below)

panko

clarified butter or coconut oil for cooking

Pick through the crab meat, remove any stray shells, and reserve. Heat some olive oil in a frying pan and gently fry the peppers, fennel, leek and onion, until softened and fragrant. Add the red curry paste and cook it, stirring, about 5 minutes. Cool the vegetables to room temp and mix with the crab meat, herbs, zest and scallop mousse. Shape the cakes into whatever size you want, making them no thicker than 1 inch to ensure even cooking. Chill in the fridge about 30 minutes to firm them up.

Bread the cakes with the panko, using only the moisture present in the crab cakes to help the panko adhere. Fry the cakes in clarified butter or coconut oil for best results. Serve with your favourite mango chutney. These crab cakes freeze well, but don’t bread them with the panko until they’re defrosted for cooking.

Makes about 18 hockey puck-size crab cakes.

For the scallop mousse:

approx. 1 lb. of scallops

approx. 1 c. of cold heavy cream

Simply clean the scallops and place them in a food processor. Add the cream in a slow stream while the blade turns. Stop once you achieve a smooth paste. Season with salt and reserve.