Crab cakes with mango salsa

December 19, 2009

Crab cakes can involve a bit of work but once you get into the swing of crab dissection, you can switch off the brain and just concentrate on the flesh extraction.

It’s a relatively easy process and you’ll find helpful instructions and videos on the Internet showing how to go about dealing with a cooked crab. If you twist off the legs so they come away with their sockets then crack the leg shell, you’ll find it easier to retrieve all the meat. I have an old silver crab fork I bought at an antiques shop many years ago and it makes short work of releasing the leg meat.

The crab back lifts easily from the rest of the body and you can then retrieve the meat. Discard the feathery gills – the “dead man’s fingers”. For aesthetic reasons, I don’t use the soft “brown meat”.

You’ll need around 250g of crabmeat for this recipe. I used three Lakes Entrance crabs weighing in at about 250g apiece and they yielded just on 250g. Of course, if you don’t fancy crustacean surgery, buy canned or fresh ready-picked crabmeat.

Crab cakes can be served with mango salsa and a salad , or you can make them in cocktail sizes for hors d’oeuvres with pre-Christmas dinner drinks. Smaller ones will require less cooking.

Crab cakes with mango salsa

250g crab meat
3 slices white bread, crusts removed
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 tablespoons chopped coriander
1 small red chilli, deseeded and finely sliced
2 spring onions, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons mayonnaise

Place the bread in a food processor and process until it is broken up. Add the parsley and coriander and process again until well mixed.

Place in a bowl with the crabmeat and remaining ingredients and mix with a spoon until well combined. Form into 8-10 patties and roll these in some flour.

Heat some vegetable oil in a pan and shallow-fry the crab cakes for about four minutes each side until golden brown.

Serve with wedges of lime and mango salsa.

Mango salsa

1 mango
juice and a little zest of 1 lime
1 tablespoon finely chopped coriander
the white ends of two spring onions, finely chopped
salt to taste
1 small green chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

Cut the flesh from each side of the mango stone. Slash on the inside in a diamond pattern, just to the skin then scoop out the flesh with a spoon. Place in a bowl and mix well with the remaining ingredients.

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