Scrumptious Seafood: Dungeness Crab Cakes with Tartar Sauce and Pickles

 

A delicious looking crab cake stopped me in my tracks while shopping at Granville Island on Sunday afternoon. I was having a look around Finest at Sea, a sustainably minded seafood boutique close to the food market, when out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the finest looking crab cake I had seen in a while, sitting behind their display case. On the spot, I was dreaming up its pairings, and before I knew it, it was in my bag, warming in my oven, and then sitting on my dinner table. We had it as a side to a fresh spring green salad sprinkled with whiskey smoked salmon and a sherry vinaigrette. It was simply divine.

Since then, I’ve been dreaming of crab cakes, thus sparking the impetus for today’s recipe selection.

Dungeness Crab Cakes with Tartar Sauce and Pickles:

Pickled Baby Cucumber

4 to 5 bay cucumbers, largely diced
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon rice vinegar

Tartar Sauce

1 cup mayonnaise
3 shiso leaves, roughly chopped
¼ cup gherkins, roughly chopped
3 tablespoons capers, rinsed and roughly chopped
2 tablespoons tarragon
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard

Crab cakes

1 cup crab meat
1 cup shrimp, hand-peeled
2 tablespoons celery, finely chopped
1 tablespoon tarragon, chopped
1 tablespoon chives, chopped
Zest of one lemon, finely grated
½ cup mayonnaise
2 cups Panko bread crumbs
2 tablespoons olive oil

Method

Pickled Baby Cucumber

Place diced cucumbers in a large bowl with salt and let stand for 1 hour. Rinse, pat dry and add sugar and vinegar. Toss well and place in fridge for at least 4 hours.

Tartar Sauce

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl and store in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Crab cakes

Preheat oven to 350 F. Place all ingredients except breadcrumbs and olive oil in a large bowl. Mix well but avoid breaking or mashing the crab meat. Divide the mixture equally into four stainless steel rings. Spread breadcrumbs onto a large plate and coat exposed sides of the crab cakes with the breadcrumbs. Heat olive oil on medium heat in a non-stick frying pan, place all four rings in pan and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Turn rings over and place pan in oven for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, place each serving on an individual plate and gently remove ring. Serve with a dollop of tartar sauce and pickled cucumbers.

Chef Rob Feenie is the Food Concept Architect at Vancouver’s Cactus Restaurants Ltd.

Recipe Source: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/recipes/dungeness-crab-cakes-with-tartar-sauce-and-pickles/article1929188/

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