CRAB CAKES
1/2 c Olive oil
1/2 Red pepper,finely diced
1/2 Green pepper, finely diced
1 lb Best-quality lump crab meat
2 lg Eggs, beaten
1 1/2 c Coarse ground homemade
-bread crumbs
Salt, freshly ground pepper
CILANTRO BUTTER SAUCE
1 c Dry white wine
1 Shallot, minced
1 c Whipping cream
8 oz Unsalted butter, softened
1/2 c Chopped fresh cilantro
GARNISH
Chopped tomato
Cilantro sprigs
1. Heat 1/4 cup of the oil in a large skillet; cook red and green
peppers in the oil until tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from skillet
with a slotted spoon. Cool.
2. Mix crab meat, eggs, cooked peppers and 2 tablespoons of the bread
crumbs in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Using wet hands,
shape crab mixture into 8 equal-size cakes. Place on a wax
paper-lined plate and chill up to several hours.
3. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Coat crab cakes in bread crumbs on all
sides. Heat remaining 1/4 cup oil in a large, ovenproof skillet. Add
crab cakes in a single layer. Cook until nicely browned on bottom,
about 2 minutes. Carefully turn cakes over and then place in oven.
Bake until golden on all sides, 10 to 12 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, for sauce, boil wine with shallot in a medium
non-reactive saucepan until reduced to 1/3 cup. Stir in cream and
boil until reduced by about half. Working over very low heat, whisk
in the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, until sauce is light and
thick. Do not allow sauce to boil at any time or it will separate.
Strain sauce through a fine wire mesh strainer into a warm bowl. Stir
in cilantro, salt and pepper. Keep warm by covering tightly with
plastic wrap and then placing bowl in a pan of warm water.
5. To serve, pour a few tablespoons of the sauce onto a warm serving
plate. Top with a crab cake. Garnish with chopped tomato and cilantro
sprig. Serve immediately.
Yields
8 Servings