Baby Crab Cakes

We are having friends over for dinner later this week and thought we should do a trail run of our starter as we've never made it before.  Seeing as the sea food is so dam amazing out here in Australia we couldn't resist but to give these little beauties a go.

So here is what you will need:

200g fresh crab meat

2x green shallots, ends trimmed & finely chopped

1x celery stick, finely chopped

2x egg whites

1tbs fresh chopped dill

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

70g breadcrumbs

1 tbs vegetable oil

1x small ripe avocado, halved, stone removed, peeled & finely chopped

1x fresh red chilli, deseeded & finely chopped

1 tbs finely chopped chives

2 tsp fresh lime juice

Prep time:  15 mins

Cooking time: 20 mins

Now this may seem like a lot of ingredients and don't be put off by it.  It is worth it.  (we did cheat a little as it was a trial run, we didn't use fresh dill or chives, but shhh we will keep that between you & I)

Mix together the shallots, egg whites, crab, celery, dill, Worcestershire sauce (which is where I am from back home) and bread crumbs in a medium size bowl and season with salt and pepper.

Heat a large non-stick frying pan on a medium heat.  Spoon six 1 tablespoonful portions of crab mixture and place in the pan.  Use a palette knife to gently flatten the mixture.

While these are slowly cooking, take your diced avocado, chilli, chives and lime juice and mix in a small serving bowl.  You may need to add a little salt and pepper to season, so try it first before adding!

It doesn't look that attractive in the bowl, but it tastes divine.

Once the topping is done, check your crab cakes.  They should be turning a nice golden brown.  Transfer them to a plate lined with a paper towel to soak up the oil.  Repeat in three more batches with the remaining mixture.  We are cooking for six people this week so we will be doing two per person.

Once golden brown and slightly crisp, place them on a serving dish (or in our case our dinner plates!) and add the avocado topping to complete the cakes.

Ta Daaa...

Now I know it looks like a hell of a lot of green everywhere but for the actual dinner party we will perfect that and tart up the salad etc.  For the mains we are doing a chilli baby snapper.  YUM!

The crab cakes taste amazing if I do say so myself.  They are so easy to do and actually don't take that long.  A perfect little starter or if you want a small dinner these bad boys will fill you up.