The Crabbiest Crab Cakes

I'm pretty picky about my crab cakes, in a purist sort of way.  These were pure crabby goodness.

This recipe comes to you straight from my phone.  About this time last year I was getting a pedi, and catching up on my reading, when I came across this recipe for crab cakes in House Beautiful.   So I took a picture of it.  I'm happy to report that it's still on my phone, which is the only reason you're hearing about it now.  The girlfriends and I tried it out at the beach last year and I'm hoping it makes the cut again this year.

Crab Cakes with Basil Buttermilk Dressing and Marinated Tomatoes and Corn

Crab Cakes:

1 1/2 lb. lump crab meat

1 1/2 cups fresh bread crumbs

2 T. mayo

1 lg egg white

1/2 lemon, juiced

s & p

Mix all ingredients till just blended.  Shape into 6 (they say 6 but we made smaller ones - just make them till it's all used up... I can't remember how many we made.)

Put on a plate, cover, and chill in fridge.

Tomato & Corn Topping:

2 ears fresh corn 

2 vine ripened tomatoes, quartered

2 cups grape tomatoes, halved

1 T. Old Bay seasoning

2 T. fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup olive oil

"one fat T. tiny fresh basil leaves" (I'm not making this stuff up!)

s & p

Roast unshucked corn in 350 degree oven about 30 minutes.  According to the recipe, it "will steam in it's own jacket and will be super sweet and tender".  I'm sure we grilled ours, which is always good and doesn't heat up the kitchen.  Let cool. Decob.

Cut tomatoes into not too small pieces (I know...they already told us to cut them once).  Toss with corn, oil, Old Bay, lemon juice, olive oil, basil, s & p.  Chill about an hour.

Buttermilk Basil Dressing:

1/2 c. buttermilk
1/2 c. mayo
1/2 c. sour cream
1/4 c. fresh basil leaves
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
few drops of fresh lemon juice
salt to taste
Combine all ingredients in blender.  Puree till smooth.  Chill, but pull out of fridge about 15 minutes before serving so it's room temp.

Cook crab cakes.  Heat 3 T olive oil over med heat.  Saute about 4 min per side or until nice and crisp.

Assemble:  Spoon dressing on plate. Top with crab cake.  Spoon tomato/corn mixture over top.

So very yummy.