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crab cakes
One thing I sometimes miss about working in restaurants is the snacking. There is always food around, obviously, and it’s easy to sneak a bite of anything while walking by. When I worked at Zoe, my favorites were the crispy calamari and the salmon tartar, both of which there were always leftovers on the line. During my time at Aquavit I could never resist eating at least one little cube of curry cured gravlax when I stepped into the walk-in refrigerator. And my most frequent snack for my five years at the Boathouse? That would be the crab cakes. They made hundreds each week, so there were always extras, and I would often put one on a bun for a quick lunch. I actually got pretty tired of them, but last week I felt like eating them at home for the first time in a very long time. They are easy enough to make, and I like to flavor mine with chopped fresh herbs. I used dill and cilantro for this batch.
Crab Cakes (serves 4)
One pound Crab Meat (lump or jumbo lump)
3 Tablespoons mayonnaise
1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs
1 cup japanese bread crumbs
salt and pepper to taste
oil for frying
Gently mix the crab with the herbs, mayonnaise, half the bread crumbs, and the salt and pepper. Form the mixture into cakes as big as you like. I made mine about three inches wide. Coat each cake with the remaining bread crumbs. Heat a shallow layer of oil on medium-high heat in a heavy frying pan. Cook several crab cakes at a time, turning once, until crispy and golden on both sides. Repeat until all crab cakes are cooked, adding more oil if necessary. You can refrigerate some of the crab cakes for the next day if you don’t feel like eating them all at once.
