Classic crab cakes with brown crab tartare sauce
40 MINUTES + CHILLING | SERVES 8 | EASY | LC
Brown crabmeat can have quite a strong flavour – it’s used as a seasoning here for the tartare sauce and crab cakes so it doesn’t overpower the delicate white meat. If you’re making just the crab cakes, use mayonnaise in place of the tartare sauce in the recipe. Once made, you can open-freeze the cakes until solid, then transfer to an airtight container and freeze for up to three months. Pan-fry from frozen, then transfer to the oven and cook for 10-15 minutes to warm through.
Maris Piper or other floury potatoes 500g, peeled and chopped
spring onions 2, finely chopped
white crabmeat 300g
cayenne pepper a pinch
lemon ½, zested
plain flour 75g
eggs 2, beaten panko or dried breadcrumbs 100g
vegetable oil for frying
watercress to serve
TARTARE SAUCE
egg yolk 1
dijon mustard 2 tsp
lemon ½, juiced
olive oil 120ml
brown crabmeat 50g
capers 1 tbsp, drained and chopped
flat-leaf parsley finely chopped to make 1 tbsp
cornichons 6, finely chopped dill or chives finely chopped to make 1 tsp
1 To start the tartare sauce, whizz the egg yolk, mustard and lemon in a jug or tall container using a stick blender. With the motor running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil, a little at a time, and continue blending until the mixture starts to emulsify. When all the oil has been added, fold in the brown crabmeat and check for seasoning, adding a little more lemon juice, salt and pepper or a dash of water if the mayonnaise is too thick. Cover and chill.
2 Cook the potatoes in a pan of boiling water until very tender, then drain and leave to steam-dry. Push through a ricer if you have one, or use a sieve to remove any small lumps. Tip the mash into a bowl with the spring onions, white crabmeat, cayenne and lemon zest. Season well and fold in 2 tbsp of the mayonnaise mixture. Stir briefly until just combined, then mould into eight crab cakes. Put on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Chill for 30 minutes until firm.
3 Put the flour, eggs and breadcrumbs in three separate bowls. Fold the remaining ingredients for the tartare sauce into the remaining mayonnaise mixture.
4 Once the crab cakes are firm, lightly dust in the flour, then dip into the egg and coat in the breadcrumbs. Heat a ½cm depth of oil in a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and fry the crab cakes for 4-5 minutes on each side or until golden, crisp and piping hot. Serve with the tartare sauce and watercress.
PER SERVING 368 kcals | fat 23.1G saturates 3.2G | carbs 24.3G | sugars 1G fibre 1.8G | protein 14.7G | salt 0.9G