Maryland Crab Cakes With Sun-dried Tomato Aioli

Total Time: 35 mins Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons canola oil (or vegetable oil)
• 2 scallions, trimmed, thinly sliced
• 1 celery rib, inner rib, trimmed, diced fine
• 1/2 red bell pepper, seeded, diced fine
• 1 extra large egg
• 1 teaspoon old bay seasoning
• 1 tablespoon light mayonnaise
• 1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard (or verjus mustard)
• 1 tablespoon flat leaf parsley, chopped
• kosher salt
• fresh ground pepper
• 1 lb lump crabmeat, picked over
• 2 tablespoons plain breadcrumbs, plus extra for coating the cakes
• 2 -3 tablespoons crisco shortening
• 3 tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, pureed
• 1/2 cup light mayonnaise

Recipe

• 1 for the crab cakes: heat oil in large skillet and add the scallions, celery and red pepper dice. saute for 4-5 minutes until vegetables are barely tender.
• 2 remove from heat, transfer to a plate and let cool.
• 3 in a mixing bowl, beat the egg and whisk in the old bay, mayonnaise, mustard, salt, pepper and parsley.
• 4 add the cooled vegetable mixture and stir to mix.
• 5 add crab meat and 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs and stir gently to mix, be careful not to break up the crab meat.
• 6 scoop about one-half cup of the mixture for each cake and shape them. use extra crumbs to coat the outside if cakes are too moist.
• 7 arrange on a plate, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15-20 minutes.
• 8 when ready to cook, melt shortening in a skillet over medium heat. put crab cakes in 3-4 at a time and saute until golden brown, no longer than 3 minutes per side.
• 9 to make the aioli simply add the sun-dried tomatoes and the mayonnaise together and stir well to mix.
• 10 taste for additional seasoning (salt and pepper) and refrigerate until ready to serve.