If you like
crab cakes, you know they can be expensive—whether you buy them in a seafood
restaurant or make your own at home with 100% lump crab meat. For this recipe,
I toned down the cost by using crab claw meat and adding a bit of shrimp to
create deliciously sweet and briny seafood cakes for about half the price.
To dress
the cakes with a little zing, I made a quick ketchup with fresh tomatoes,
sweetened with sugar and cinnamon and heated up with Tabasco and cayenne.
Simply place all the ingredients in a pan and let them cook down together into
a rich, tomato-y, sweet and spicy sauce that’s so much better than anything off
the store shelf.
For another
seafood cake recipe, check out Langostino Lobster-and-Cod Cakes with Creamy Lemon-Dill Sauce.
Makes 4 large cakes
Ingredients
For the Ketchup
- 2 large stem tomatoes, peeled and finely chopped
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp white sugar
- 1 tbsp white balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp Tabasco (or other hot red sauce)
- 1/4 tsp cayenne powder
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- sea salt
Ketchup Ingredients |
For the Shrimp-and-Crab Cakes
- 1/2 lb crab claw meat, coarsely chopped
- 1/3 lb peeled, deveined medium shrimp, coarsely chopped
- 1/3 cup panko (or other fine, dry breadcrumbs)
- 1 scallion, finely chopped
- 1 large egg yolk, whisked
- 1 tbsp finely chopped cilantro
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Shrimp and Crab |
For the Ketchup
- Place all the ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and cook slowly until the tomatoes break down and the mixture is fairly thick, 20-25 minutes.
- Remove to a bowl and cool completely. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour. (May also be made 1 day ahead.)
Tomato Mixture Beginning to Cook |
Cooked Ketchup |
Sweet-and-Spicy Ketchup |
For the Shrimp-and-Crab Cakes
- Place the chopped crab and shrimp in a food processor. Pulse a few times until well combined. Scrape into a bowl.
- Add the next 8 ingredients (through black pepper) and mix lightly with your fingers. Divide the mixture into 4 portions and shape each into a puffy disk (handle the mixture gently—don’t press hard to flatten it), about 2-1/2 inches in diameter.
- Place the cakes on a plate and cover lightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate 30 minutes. (Refrigeration helps the ingredients stay together during cooking.)
Cakes Ready to Cook |
- Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and add the olive oil, swirling to coat the entire bottom of the pan.
- Place the cakes in the skillet and fry 2-3 minutes, until the bottom is golden brown. Turn and fry the other side 2-3 minutes until also golden.
Cakes Beginning to Cook |
Cooked Shrimp-and-Crab Cakes |
Plate the cakes and serve with ketchup in individual serving bowls alongside.
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