Crabless Cakes
Why I Love This Recipe
These are a delicious alternative to crab cakes. Since my daughter is vegetarian and I'm allergic to shellfish, this was a great middle ground for the two of us. Because they are all vegetable, no meat, no egg, there were no worries about under cooking. I found the recipe in the August 2013 issue of Food & Wine.
Ingredients You'll Need
1 TB Extra Light Olive Oil, plus more for frying
2 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels (about 4 ears of corn)
1/4 cup minced onion
1/4 cup minced roasted red bell pepper (I used it from a jar)
15 oz can whole hearts of palm, drained, thinly sliced and diced
2 tsp Old Bay seasoning
2 TB chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
1/4 vegan mayonnaise
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 cup plus 2 TB plain dry gluten free bread crumbs, plus more for coating
Salt and Pepper
Directions
In a non-stick skillet, heat 1 TB olive oil over high heat. Add the corn, onion and bell pepper. Cook for about 4 minutes, until crisp tender.
Take 1 cup of the sauteed mixture and pulse it in a food processor to create a course puree.
Put the hearts of palm in a medium sized bowl. Using a fork, mash them into shards. Add the pureed corn mixture and the remaining sauteed corn mixture along with the Old Bay seasoning, parsley, mayonnaise, mustard and bread crumbs. Season with salt and pepper to taste (yes, you can taste it...its all veggies). Stir to combine so that everything is evenly moist.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (no, you are not going to be baking these). Fill a pie plate or shallow, wide mouthed bowl with bread crumbs. Season the crumbs with a little salt and pepper.
Scoop about 1/4 cup of the mixture, roll it in the bread crumbs to coat and then flatten it just a little to form a nice little fat 2" mound. You'll have about 18 cakes in the end (and very messy hands).
Using the same non-stick skillet, wiped clean and filled with 1/8' of oil, fry the cakes in batches over moderate heat.
Cook for 2 minutes per side, until golden brown. Be careful when flipping them, as they are a little on the fragile side. Remove them to a paper towel lined plate.
Wipe the skillet clean and use fresh oil for each batch until all the cakes are cooked.
Serve hot, over a nice bed or fresh greens