These Kosher Crab Cakes make an incredible appetizer for this meal. It is pretty rare to be served crab cakes at a Shabbat meal, so the “wow” factor on these is quite high. Making these the first time around can be a bit tricky, but they get easier as you go and the end result is truly worth it. The fresh lemon and dill garnish also makes reference to some of the flavors in the dish. But as great as these little crab cakes are, the Roasted Red Pepper Aioli is what sends it over the edge.
Kosher Crab Cakes
Servings
8 Servings
Ingredients
- 1 package Imitation Crab Sticks Finely Chopped*
- 1/3 cup Finely Diced Celery
- 1 tablespoon Finely Chopped Dill
- 2 Lemons
- 1/3 cup Mayonnaise
- 2 Cups Panko Bread Crumbs divided
- 1 Cup Flour
- 3 Eggs Lightly Beaten
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- 2 cups Vegetable Oil
- ½ Cup Roasted Red Peppers
- 1 Clove Garlic
- ½ Cup Mayonnaise
- Salt & Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Combine chopped crabstick, celery, dill, zest of 1 lemon, plus juice of ½ the lemon, mayonnaise and ¾ cup panko breadcrumbs into a bowl. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Taste to check seasoning and adjust if necessary.
- Spoon 8 portions (about ¼ cup each) onto tray lined with foil or parchment paper. With wet hands, form the scoops into hockey puck-like disks. Refrigerate for about 1 hour until the cakes firm up a bit. Through the process they may fall apart, you can reassemble them as you proceed.
- Place flour, eggs, and remainder of panko in 3 separate plates for dredging. Dredge in flour, egg and then panko, patting panko into cakes at the end. Set aside on tray again. Refrigerate for 1 hour to firm up.
- Heat a pan over medium-high heat with enough to coat the bottom of the pan. Sautee the cakes in batches until golden brown and crisp, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Add additional oil to pan if necessary as you finish the remaining crab cakes.
- Crab cakes may be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated. Serve at room temperature, with lemon wedges, dill sprigs and Roasted Red Pepper Aioli in serving bowl on the side.
- Roasted Red Pepper Aioli
- In a food processor, puree peppers and garlic until smooth. Add mayonnaise and pulse 2 or 3 times until incorporated.
- Season with salt and pepper and refrigerate. Sauce will thicken up in the refrigerator.
Oh please… do what is best for you and your family, mind your own business, and stop worrying about what others do. Yenta.
Would you feel differently if these were just presented as crunchy fish cakes? Imitation crab is really nothing like the real thing, but the crunchiness of a breaded and sauteed little fishcake is hard to beat!
I am absolutely opposed to mock anything that is traif. I do not allow baco bits in my house. I do not make buy or allow mock crab anything, shrimp, nothing. We have enough kosher foods that I do not feel the need to introduce traif flavors into my kosher home. There is just no need. Salmon quiche is perfect for Shavuot. Moroccan fish stew. Grilled salmon. There is so much to choose from why does anyone feel the need to go to the goyim for inspiration and food for our yom tov table? It is not Kiddush Hashem to imitate the goyim. It is the exact opposite. We are specifically told NOT to imitate the goyim – and here you are doing exactly that.
Where do you get kosher crab sticks? I’m in Berkeley,Ca. Thanks
db
Nothing fancy – i throw it in a lubed (canola oil spray usually) baking pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper. I don’t broil it for a specific amount of time, but keep an eye on it to see that it’s cooked thoroughly but not dried out or crispy around the edges, which makes it hard to flake. Once it has cooled a bit, I flake it up and put it in the bowl with the rest of the ingredients. Totally simple.
How much cod, approximately, do you use in this recipe? Even if the mock crabsticks were available in my area, I don’t think I would use them anyway.
Marci,
how do you prepare the broiled cod
How many crab sticks do you call for in this recipe? I bought a package of crab sticks but it seems like too much for this recipe.
As a formerly not-kosher girl from Baltimore, crab cakes were a staple that were definitely missed when I became more observant. Mock crab cakes have long been a staple of my Shabbat table. This is a fun recipe – I prefer to make mine with broiled cod – the fish is certainly healthier than the imitation crab, and its texture when broiled closely mimics lump crab meat.