Crab Cakes with Grainy Mustard Sauce

Crab Cakes with Grainy Mustard Sauce

Ingredients

  • 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

  • 1/2 small onion, finely chopped

  • 1 garlic clove, chopped

  • Salt and pepper

  • 2 heaping tablespoons grainy mustard

  • 1 teaspoon hot sauce (eyeball it)

  • 3/4 cup chicken stock (eyeball it)

  • 1/4 cup heavy cream or half-and-half (eyeball it)

  • 7 slices white sandwich bread

  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise (a couple of heaping tablespoons)

  • 4 scallions, finely chopped

  • 1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped (a generous handful)

  • 1 small red bell pepper, finely chopped

  • 1 pound fresh lump crab meat, available in tubs at supermarket fish counters

  • 2 tablespoons butter

Directions

Pre-heat a small saucepot over medium-high heat with one turn of the pan of EVOO. Add the onion and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook them, stirring frequently, for about 3-4 minutes. Add the grainy mustard, hot sauce, chicken stock and cream.

Bring it up to a simmer and cook until thick, about 2-3 minutes. Turn the sauce off and reheat it when you’re ready to serve. Place the bread in the food processor and use the pulse button to break it up, then let it rip and make fine breadcrumbs.

In a bowl, combine the mayonnaise, scallions, parsley, red bell pepper, salt and freshly ground black pepper. Gently run your fingers through the crab meat to feel for any shells or cartilage, but try not to break up the meat too much while you do so. Add the cleaned crab meat to the mayonnaise mixture. Add a quarter of the fresh breadcrumbs and gently fold it over to combine. Place the remaining breadcrumbs on a plate and divide the crab mixture into four equal portions.

Transfer the four crab portions to the plate with the breadcrumbs. Coat each one in the breadcrumbs, gently pressing the breadcrumbs and forming 1-1 1/2-inch thick cakes. Pre-heat a medium size nonstick skillet over medium heat with three turns of the pan of EVOO, about three tablespoons, and the butter. Once the butter melts, add the crab cakes and brown and cook them for about four minutes on each side or until they are golden brown and heated through. Divide the sauce between two plates, top with the crab cakes and serve.