Savory Crab Cake

1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
zest and juice of 1 medium lemon
1/4 cup plain non-fat yogurt
1 large egg
1 tbsp Old Bay Seasoning
1 lb fresh crab meat
1 cup panko bread crumps
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
Vegetable oil spray

Preheat oven to 400F.

In a medium saucepan, heat oil until it shimmers. Add minced onion and sauté until translucent but not coloured. Remove from heat, add lemon juice and zest. Stir to combine.

When mixture has cooled, place in a mixing bowl and add yogurt, egg, Old Bay seasoning, salt and pepper. Stir well to combine. Carefully fold in breadcrumbs and crab meat (attempting to keep crab in as large of pieces as possible.

Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray. Using a medium sized scooper (not as large as ice cream, not as small as truffles), dish out individual crab cakes and gently flatten in your palms before placing on cookie sheet. This recipe should make about 24-26 crab cakes of the smaller size.

Spritz the top of each crab cake with cooking spray. Place in oven for 20 minutes or until nicely browned.

Serves: 4 with a salad. Also may be served with cocktail sauce, tarter sauce, or a rouille (see below note)

This recipe has been lightened up by the inclusion of non-fat yogurt versus the regular mayonnaise that you would traditionally find in a crab cake recipe, and by baking instead of deep fat frying the cakes.

Note: Rouille Sauce (adapted from Julia Child’s “The Way To Cook”)

6 large cloves of garlic, pureed
1/4 tsp salt
18 large leaves of basil (or 1 1/2 tsp dried savory, oregano or thyme)
3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
2 to 3 tbsp hot milk
3 large egg  yolks
1 roasted red pepper (seeds, core, and stem removed)
3/4 to 1 cup olive oil
5 drops of Tabasco sauce
Salt and freshly ground pepper (to taste)

N.B.: If you are making this in a food processor, it is imperative that the garlic be pureed. A food processor chops instead of pureeing, and you’re wanting a smooth sauce. (If you’re using pre-purchased pureed garlic, you may make this in a food processor from this point forward, as long as you are careful to make sure each step is followed as closely as possible for a smooth sauce.)

Puree the garlic in a heavy bowl (or add purchased pureed garlic, if you are familiar with the quality of the product) and add salt, pounding into a paste. Continue pounding while adding the herbs. When well mashed and blended, add panko and milk to form a paste. Add egg yolks, one at a time. Now, using a whisk or electric mixer (hand mixer preferred over stand mixer here so that you keep the sauce in motion), beat for 1-2 minutes until it thickens slightly. Then, start beating in the oil in a series of slow additions (almost dribbles to begin with), as if you were making a mayonnaise. The sauce will be thick and heavy. Season to taste with Tabasco, salt and pepper.

Rouille is perfect for use on crab cakes, in fish soup, on pasta, on potatoes, broiled or grilled fish, in fact, anything that you would sauce, as long as you’re wishing for the flavour of garlic and peppers.