Tonight is a Thursday and I start to get a little lazy by Thursday. I was pretty busy today and wanted to buy some specialty items at Trader Joe’s so I thought I would try to find dinner items there as well. I came across some pasteurized and packaged crab in the refrigerated section and decided I would make crab cakes and arugula (rocket) salad for dinner. Easy enough! Maybe throw in a hunk of garlic bread for my almost-teenage son (he is difficult to fill up lately!). I have been making crab cakes in the oven for years, but I keep trying slightly new recipes. I am not a fan of mayo, so I always use non-fat plain greek yogurt in it’s place, although I have experimented with leaving the yogurt out as well, I think the crab needs that moisture, so today I am leaving it in. One can also pan fry them, they may be better, but you have to be willing to use a little more oil with that method.
Crab Cakes
Quick and healthy crab cakes without the mayo or heavy fillers for a busy weeknight.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup red bell pepper, finely chopped
- 2 green or spring onions, green part only finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon capers, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons plain greek yogurt (I used non-fat)
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- dash of paprika
- 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 large egg , lightly beaten
- 1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten
- 1 1/3 cups Panko (Japanese breadcrumbs), divided
- 1 pound lump crabmeat, drained and shell pieces removed (today I used some I bought from Trader Joe’s in a refrigerated package, when it is available I use fresh crab, but today I used what is quick and easy – it is Thursday)
- Canola oil or cooking spray
Quick Cocktail Sauce
- 1/2 cup of organic ketchup
- 2 Tablespoons prepared horseradish
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- dash of hot sauce
Procedure
- Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F.
- In a medium sized bowl mix the first 11 ingredients together (red bell pepper through egg yolk). Add 1/3 cup of the Panko to the mix and put the other cup of Panko in a shallow bowl to use later to coat the patties. Add the crab and mix the ingredients thoroughly.
- Shape the mixture into 8 patties and set on a plate. If you have time put the patties in the refrigerator for 30 minutes (you can make cocktail sauce and a salad while they sit in the fridge!). This helps them to firm up a bit, but will be ok either way.
- If you are making cocktail sauce, just mix all the ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. Easy! I probably add a lot more horseradish, but I like it spicy!
- Remove crab cakes from the fridge. Lightly dredge in the reserved Panko. Place Panko-crusted crab cakes on a pan lightly coated with cooking spray or oil of choice. Bake for 15 minutes on each side or until golden on each side. Serve with cocktail sauce or sauce of choice. I also made a simple salad with arugula, sliced cherry tomatoes, toasted pine nuts and very thin shavings of parmigiano Reggiano cheese with a light lemony vinaigrette. Enjoy!
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March 2, 2017
Healthy Seasonal Cooking 
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