Crab Cakes and Avocado Mango Salsa
Hayley Snow's mother, Janet, in the Key West Food Critic Mysteries is a caterer whose reputation has blossomed in Key West. She caters the spread for Hayley's friend and coworker Danielle's rehearsal dinner, including these crab cakes. She makes mini cakes, topped with an avocado and mango salsa. I hope you find them to die for, but not literally!You could also serve this with pan-fried yellowtail snapper or Key West pink shrimp. You could even serve it with tortilla chips as an appetizer.
Ingredients
Crab Cakes
- 1 pound crab meat, picked over to remove bits of shell
- ½ cup panko or fresh breadcrumbs
- 2 scallions, finely minced
- 1 stick celery, finely minced
- ¼ tsp celery seed or salt
- ½ tsp paprika
- ¼ tsp cayenne
- 1½ tsp Dijon Mustard
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2½ Tbsp mayonnaise
- Fresh black pepper
- 2 eggs
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp butter
Avocado Mango Salsa
- 1 large ripe mango
- 2 ripe avocados
- 1 Tbsp minced red onion or 2 scallions
- 1 Tbsp minced jalapeno, or to taste
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
- ½ lime
- 1-2 tsp olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Crab Cakes
- Mix the ingredients from the scallions to the eggs.
- Then fold in the crab meat and the breadcrumbs, sorting through the crab as you go to make sure no cartilage or shell remains.
- Shape the crab mixture into ½ cup-size cakes. This should result in six cakes. If they are to be served as appetizers, make them smaller. Refrigerate for an hour or more to help the mixture set.
- Heat a tablespoon of olive oil and a tablespoon of butter over medium heat. Add crab cakes. Sauté them until brown, then flip carefully and continue to sauté the other side.
- Serve with avocado and mango salsa or cocktail sauce (one part horseradish to two parts ketchup).
Avocado Mango Salsa
- Cut the mango and avocado into small chunks. Mix this gently with the onion, cilantro, and jalapeno.
- Squeeze lime juice over the top and drizzle with the olive oil. Then add salt and pepper to taste.
- You could also serve this with pan-fried yellowtail snapper or Key West pink shrimp. You could even serve it with tortilla chips as an appetizer.