Whole Wheat, Buttery Crab Cakes.

 

 I love this recipe.

 

It usually ends up slightly different each time since I rarely measure anything, but I include the same ingredients.

 

 

 

I threw this together when I was sick of eating crab cakes with too much ‘filler.’ These bad boys MELT in your mouth. And they are also fairly healthy!

 

 

Begin with 16oz of lump crabmeat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No imitation crab here.

 

 

 

 

 Beautiful chunks ‘o crab. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And lots of protein!

 

 

 

 My main seasonings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am having a love affair with smoked paprika. It is so, so good. I add it to pretty much everything these days.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is one of those ingredients that leads people to say

“what exactly is in this? I can’t pinpoint it, but it’s excellent!’

 

 

Well – that’s what I would probably say.

 

 

I use about 1-2 tablespoons of Olive Oil mayo to hold things together. You may be shocked, but I do not really like mayonaise. Weird, you say?

 

 

I figure it is not something I need to ‘try’ to like – since I like many other rich foods.

 

 

 

 The title of this entry is slightly misleading.

 

When I make these crabcakes, I almost always use whole wheat crackers. My favorites are simply store-brand entertainer crackers.

 

 

 

I am really trying not to be wasteful, and had a few sleeves of Ritz crackers laying around. I used them this time.  

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Please don’t hate.

 

 

 

 Here is the crab mix before adding my favorite, unique ingredient. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can barely see any filler, right? I only use about 10 crackers, and I crush them with my hands.

 

 

 

This is my favorite part, and what I like to think is a fairly unique spin on crab cakes. Every time I have brought these along to a party, people are always commenting on how delicious they are.

 

 

 

Sure, we know it’s the smoked paprika.  

 

 

 

 

But it’s also my sauteed chopped veggies and garlic!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I use my mini-food processor, which I LOVE. First, it chops things evenly into the perfect size, AND it is much less time consuming.

 

 

 

 

And it’s also just so stinkin’ cute.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are my chopped veggies – red and green pepper, onion, and garlic.

 

 

 

I chop and saute them for one very important reason.

 

 

 

You know that satisfying, fresh ‘crunch’ that most people love about veggies?

 

 

I hate it. Like, totally grosses me out.

 

 

 

 

I saute them until they get soft and they add wonderful flavor to the crab.

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I add the entire mix – olive oil, veggies and all – right to the crab. It adds an extra bit of moisture and ‘glue’ without added filler. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have never tried it, but I’m sure this would also make a nice, cold, crab salad.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This part is optional – sometimes I do it, sometimes I don’t.

 

 

I don’t know what the deciding factor is either. I supposed it would be if I want to fit into my jeans the next day.

 

 

 

And apparently when I made these, I didn’t.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I use a tablespoon or so of butter (or Smart Balance, etc) and chop it into tiny slices.

 

 

 

 

 Just lightly place it on top of the crab cake.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It melts of-so-perfectly in the oven!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After about 25 minutes, out come crispy, golden-brown crab cakes. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sometimes I make mini-cakes for appetizers and occasionally larger ones for a meal. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Really, the addition of the chopped, sauteed veggies adds a moisture and flavor to the crab cakes I have never tasted before. Please try it out!

 

 

 

Whole Wheat, Buttery Crab Cakes

 

16 oz lump crab meat

1 tablespoon olive oil mayo

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon ground mustard

1/2 teaspoon season salt

10 whole wheat crackers, hand smooshed

 1/4 red pepper

1/4 green pepper

1/4 sweet onion

3 garlic cloves

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

 

Season crab with smoked paprika, mustard and season salt. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil mayo and mix. Add 10 whole wheat crackers and thoroughly mix again.

 

Either hand-chop or add peppers, onions, and garlic to a food processor. Chop into tiny chunks. Heat a skillet on medium-high heat, and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1/2 tablespoon of butter. Add in chopped veggies and saute for about 1-2 minutes, until soft.

Add entire veggie mix to crab and stir. Form into small or large cakes. Chop remaining butter into tiny slices and lay on top of each cake.

Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until crispy and golden brown.

 

 

 

Please, please, please notify my of any typos in this post (or any). Multiple times while typing ‘crab,’ I typed both ‘crap’ and ‘carb.’

 

 

 

And I don’t think any of us want to eat crap cakes!

Tagged as: crab, recipes, seafood