
Sauteed Crab Cakes with Fennel Salad Dressed with Kaffir Lime Vinaigrette
Makes 6 ServingsIngredients
* | CRAB CAKES |
* | 8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature |
* | Zest and juice of 3 lemons |
* | 2 lbs. crab meat |
* | 1/4 cup basil, chiffonade |
* | Salt and pepper to taste |
* | 1 cup flour |
* | 4 eggs, beaten |
* | 3 cups panko (See Notes) |
* | FENNEL SALAD |
* | 1 bulb fennel, shaved |
* | 1/2 cup Roma tomatoes, julienne |
* | 1/4 cup cucumber, peeled, seeded and sliced thin |
* | 2 tbls. basil, chiffonade |
* | 2 tbls. red onion, shaved and blanched |
* | 6 cups Mesclun mix |
* | KAFFIR LIME VINAIGRETTE |
* | 1 kaffir lime leaf |
* | 1 oz. rice vinegar |
* | 1/8 tsp. salt |
* | 1 tsp. cilantro |
* | 1 tsp. basil |
* | 1 tsp. mint |
* | 1/8 tsp. black pepper |
* | 1/2 tsp. sesame oil |
* | 3 oz. canola oil |

Instructions
1 | For the crab cakes: Place cream cheese in a bowl at room temperature. When the cream cheese is at room temperature, stir briskly with a rubber spatula so that no lumps remain. |
2 | Chop the lemon zest very fine and add to the cheese. Strain the juice of the lemons and add it slowly to the cream cheese, stirring constantly. Gently fold in the crab meat and basil. Season well with salt and ground black pepper. |
3 | Portion into 6-oz. balls. (The mixture will be very soft.) Refrigerate for 2 hours. |
4 | Form each ball into a cake about 3/4-inch thick and 3 inches in diameter. Then follow a standard breading procedure of dredging in flour, then in the egg wash and then into the Panko bread crumbs. |
5 | Saute over moderate heat until golden brown, gently turning over to finish. |
6 | For the Fennel Salad: Shave fennel very thin with a mandoline. Rinse well with cold water. |
7 | Prepare the remaining ingredients. Mix together all the ingredients except the mesclun mix. |
8 | Mix the fennel salad with the mesclun and dress lightly with the Kaffir Lime Viniagrette. Reserve some of the viniagrette to drizzle around each plate. |
9 | For the Kaffir Lime Viniagrette: Chop kaffir lime very fine and add to rice vinegar. Warm over low heat. Dissolve the salt into the vinegar. |
10 | Add the remaining ingredients and allow to steep overnight, if possible. |
11 | To serve, toss Fennel Salad while crab cakes are cooking. Place 1 1/2 cups of salad just above the center of the plate. Drizzle about 1/2 ounce of Kaffir Lime Viniagrette around the plate. Lean one crab cake against salad. Serve immediately. |


Notes
- Panko is Japanese bread crumbs, found in the Asian section of your supermarket.
Source
Executive Chef Edward Curtindale, Pacifica Seafood Brasserie, Aspen CO