Crispy crab cakes of lump crab meat are flavored with a little paprika and then served with a creamy roasted red pepper sauce in this Spanish influenced version of crab cakes.
I have a pile of different crab cake recipes, all of which I love. What is there not to love? Crab meat, crispy little cakes, yummy sauces. It’s all good! However, even though I have all those wonderful recipes all tested and ready to go, inspiration struck when I started thinking about which recipe to choose, and so instead I came up with a new recipe. This is something I’ve always done, but now that it’s my job, I find it happening even more. 🙂
That’s a good thing, right?
Anyway, my mind went to Spanish flavors and crab cakes and Romesco Sauce. I love romesco sauce and thought the flavors would work well with crab cakes, but I wanted the sauce to be creamy and not thick. So…a little more thinking and I decided to try roasted red peppers + cream + paprika. Plus garlic, because it’s not dinner if there is no garlic. (Okay, not really, but I do really like garlic!)
And how was my sauce idea? Awesome! I wanted to eat it with a spoon, but I was good and saved it for the crab cakes.
Mostly.
As for the crab cakes themselves, I like to keep them fairly simple. A little chopped scallions, a dash of paprika, the minimum of binders, and a roll in flour to make a crispy outside. If your crab meat is pasteurized just make sure you drain it well and pat it as dry as possible. It’s a lot harder to form the crab meat into cakes when you have excess liquid!
Ask me how I know. 🙂
Yes, I was not always great about draining/drying the crab meat. This made crab cakes a bit frustrating and fiddly to make. Learn from my mistakes. Learn from my mistakes, and make yummy crab cakes with roasted red pepper sauce. Your taste buds will thank you.
– Happy Eating, Annemarie
- 1 lb crab meat
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tsp mustard
- ½ tsp paprika
- 2 tbsp minced scallions, white and light green parts
- ½ cup fresh breadcrumbs
- flour, for dredging
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- 2 roasted red peppers
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- ¼ tsp cayenne
- If the crab meat is watery, line a fine mesh strainer with paper towels, fill it with the crab meat, and let it drain for 30 minutes. Pat the crab meat with fresh paper towels and try to drain/soak up as much of the water as possible.
- Mix together the egg, mayonnaise, mustard, paprika, and scallions. Add the crab meat and the breadcrumbs and gently combine. Chill for at least 2 hours, or up to 8 hours.
- When you are ready to cook the crab cakes, divide the crab meat mixture into 8 parts. Shape each into a cake and lightly dredge with flour. The crab cakes will be soft, so handle them gently. Place each dredged cake onto a plate to rest while the oil heats.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, carefully slide the crab cakes into the skillet. Cook for 3-4 minutes per side, or until the cakes are crispy and golden brown. Remove the cakes to a paper towel lined plate.
- To make the sauce: The sauce can be made any time while the crab meat mixture is resting. Have the sauce ready before cooking the crab cakes.
- Bring the cream, roasted red peppers, and garlic to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Simmer for 7-8 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let it cool for a few minutes. Then pour the cream mixture into a blender; add the paprika, smoked paprika, and cayenne. Puree until smooth. Set the sauce aside until the crab cakes are done.
I cook a lot of different fish cakes but I’ve never tried crab cakes. I am looking forward to trying it out.
Crab cakes are favorite around here. I hope you get a chance to make them soon!
I love crab cakes – always order them in a restaurant – but I’ve never made them myself! You make it sound so easy. Will have to give this a try. I’ve also never had them with a red pepper sauce. This sounds delicious!
Crab cakes look harder than they are. They are pretty low stress. I used to make them with my daughter when she was little. (I still make them with her, but she is not so little anymore. 🙂 )
h gosh there are so many of my favorite things in this post — we love love love crab cakes in summer, and roasted red peppers have got to be one of my secret weapons in the kitchen, the color and flavor they give to recipes is incredible!
I agree about the peppers! I never liked them growing up, but I love them now. It’s amazing how they punch up a recipe. 🙂
I LOVE crab cakes and this roasted red pepper sauce sounds absolutely perfect to go alongside it! Drooling right now. Need to make these ASAP! 🙂
The sauce is seriously tasty. And easy too!
I absolutely love these crab cakes! I am saving this recipe for later!
Thanks! 🙂
Changed my dinner plans to try this. Have done crab cakes traditional Inner Harbor Baltimore style, done them with a homemade aioli, this way and that, but never with this type of seasoned red pepper sauce.
Thank you for the enticing recipe of a crabcake.
You’re welcome! And thank you for letting me know you enjoyed the recipe. 🙂