Crab Cakes Recipe

Put the crab meat into a mixing bowl and drizzle strained lime or lemon juice over it. Add onion, cilantro or parsley, and chopped chili, and mix lightly with a fork. Mix mayonnaise, pepper flakes, and mustard together, then add to crab and mix with fork. Add 1/2 cup bread crumbs, mix, and see if it can hold in a bundle. If not, add more, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it holds.

Form into 8 cakes, approximately 3" in diameter and 3/4" thick. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes (chilling is essential or they will fall apart). Heat butter and oil in a heavy skillet over medium high heat. Dredge cakes in remaining bread crumbs and fry until crisp and golden brown on the bottom (3 - 5 minutes). Turn carefully and brown on the other side. Serve immediately.

NOTES : Variations: Codfish Cakes, substitute 1 cup soaked and cooked salt cod plus 1 1/2 cups cooked true or Ling cod, and lemon and parsley; substitute green bell pepper for mild chili pepper. Smoked Salmon Cakes, substitute hard smoked salmon for crab; eliminate the cilantro and green chili. Shrimp Cakes, substitute chopped cooked shrimp for crab. This produces light, flaky, seafood-tasting cakes, as opposed to the more traditional, breadier ones.

So mix everything with a fork and use just enough bread crumbs to bind them through the first turn in the pan. Serve with Quick Tomato Salsa, Tartar Sauce or lime wasabi mayonnaise (1 cup good mayonnaise, juice of 1 lime, 1 tablespoon wasabi horseradish).