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Creating recipes isn't a pastime—it's a passion. And a lot of fun.

The rules are few: Use 99% fresh ingredients (or thereabouts); make the dish simple but flavorful; make the dish flavorful but simple; be creative, not silly.

With this blog, I want to share new recipes, along with tips on ingredients and preparation, and, hopefully, show new cooks (and non-cooks) the pleasure in setting the table with a delicious homemade meal. The Briny Lemon is about fresh, simple, flavorful ingredients and easy cooking methods that help you bring the best to your family table. Your comments are welcome!

Saturday, June 8, 2013

Shrimp-and-Crab Cakes with Sweet-and-Spicy Ketchup



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
  1. 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. 
  2. 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
  1. Place the chopped crab and shrimp in a food processor. Pulse a few times until well combined. Scrape into a bowl.
  2. 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.
  3. 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
  1. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and add the olive oil, swirling to coat the entire bottom of the pan.
  2. 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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