- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 4 large crab cakes
This recipe makes a beautiful appetizer for four or a delicious meal for two.
Nova Scotia is a dream in the summertime. Halifax, the provincial capital, is amazingly beautiful and sophisticated, without any pretense whatsoever.
The gardens sprinkled throughout Halifax make it the crown jewel of the Maritime Provinces of eastern Canada. Cape Breton Island is breathtaking. That’s all I can say. Of course, fresh seafood abounds. You will fall in love with Nova Scotia!
Make the crab mixture ahead of time and refrigerate for 1 hour. I added roasted red peppers and various condiments to make the aioli (which traditionally is a basic garlic mayonnaise) just perfect for these crab cakes.
Of course, you can make home-made mayonnaise or use ready-made varieties. You will notice that these patties have much fewer bread crumbs (only in the coating) than what you will find at most restaurants. Succulent, sweet lump crab meat is the best to use here.
To roast the garlic cloves and red bell pepper, preheat the oven to 400ºF. Brush the red pepper with olive oil and place it directly on the oven rack.
Place the unpeeled garlic cloves on a small sheet of aluminum foil, dredge with olive oil, and make a small purse with the foil to close in the garlic cloves. Place on the oven rack. Roast both the red pepper and the garlic for 15 minutes.
The pepper is done when the skin begins to blister and turn black. Remove the pepper’s skin and seeds. Squeeze the garlic from its peel.
For the crab cake mixture:
- 1/2 white onion, finely chopped
- 1/2 roasted red bell pepper, chopped
- 3 tablespoons of butter
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 2 tablespoons of sour cream
- 1/2 teaspoon spicy mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 3 dashes of cayenne pepper sauce
- pinch of sea salt
- 2 scallions, chopped, including green ends
- 1/2-pound lump crab meat
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs, seasoned with salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon of canola oil
- 2 sprigs of Italian parsley, for garnish
For the Aioli:
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 roasted red pepper, finely chopped
- cayenne pepper, to taste
- salt and black pepper, to taste.
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- juice, 1/2 lime
- 2 dashes of Tabasco sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon spicy mustard
- 2 cloves of roasted garlic
For the crab cakes:
- Sauté the onion in the butter. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. In a medium-sized stainless steel or glass mixing bowl, whisk together the egg, sour cream, and all other ingredients except the crab meat, bread crumbs, and parsley.
- Do not add the oil. When a consistent texture is achieved, separate the crab meat into shreds and add it to the mixture. Chill for 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, make the aioli by whisking all the ingredients together.
- In a large frying pan, heat the canola oil. Form the chilled crab cake mixture into 4 patties. Coat the patties in the seasoned bread crumbs. Fry for 3–5 minutes on each side.
- Place a pool of the roasted red pepper aioli on each of the four serving plates. Place a crab cake on each. Drizzle with the remaining aioli, top with a parsley garnish, and serve immediately.
- A nice crisp or slightly fruit-forward white wine, such as an Italian Verdiccio or a dry-side Reisling, would complement these crab cakes very nicely.
