Foodie Friday: Imitation Crab Cakes

Happy Friday everyone! Let's celebrate with some food.

I ended up with a package of imitation crab sticks this week. Not sure why I decided to buy them, but I did. After making a rather delicious sushi thing with a couple of them, I decided to kill the package with one of my favorite meals of all time: crab cakes!!

Ingredients: Assemble!

I was fortunate to have everything I needed at home. Most of these items are things you probably have too. 

First I opened up that package of crab and shredded it up real good until it looked like this:

Then I sautéed some onion and garlic in olive oil until they were nice and soft:

Then I whisked together an egg, some plain yogurt, smoky seasoning, salt, herbs, and lemon juice together in a bowl:

Which I then added to the crab!

Mm, appetizing...

Then I dumped the onions and garlic - olive oil and all - right into the bowl and combined. I didn't want to overdo the bread crumbs (in this case I had seasoned fish fry) so I added them 1/4 cup at a time until I was happy with the consistency. I ended up using about a cup. The consistency was a little like peanut butter, or sugar cookie dough. The crab stuff should stick together a little while you're stirring it. 

Then I formed 1/4 cup at a time into patties with my hands and laid them on some wax paper on a baking sheet:

Then I refrigerated for around 5 hours. As I understand it, the longer you fridge the stuff, the better it will stay together when you're frying it up later. 

About 20 minutes before show time, I heated yet more olive oil in a pan over high heat until it was sizzling. Then I fried the patties four at a time. 4 minutes on each side was too much, so aim for 3. Flip carefully, then when they're brown on both sides, let them drain on a paper towel while you move on to the next batch. 

Then I served them up with boxed cheesy scalloped potatoes:

It wasn't the healthiest dinner, but it was easier than I thought it would be and frankly, kind of fun!

Here's the full recipe for those who don't like stories:

Imitation Crab Cakes:

Ingredients:

1 8-oz package of imitation crab sticks

1 egg

2 Tbsp + 1/4 cup olive oil, divided 

1/4 white onion, chopped finely

3 garlic cloves,minced

1/4 cup plain yogurt or mayonnaise

3 Tbsp lemon juice 

1 tsp Herbs de Provence or any other herb mix you like*

1 tsp salt*

1 tsp spicy or smoky herb mix*

Around 1 cup bread crumbs

* If you are using seasoned bread crumbs, use half the listed seasoning amounts, or none at all. Don't make my mistake and over salt these!

Directions:

1. Shred or dice the crab finely. 

2. Sauté the finely chopped onion and garlic in 2 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat until onion is soft and translucent. 

3. Whisk together the egg, lemon juice, yogurt, and seasonings in a bowl. 

4. Combine with the crab until crab is well coated. 

5. Add onion and garlic to crab mixture. 

6. Add bread crumbs 1/4 cup at a time until mixture resembles peanut butter or cookie dough. 

7. Using wet hands, form patties out of 1/4 cup of mixture and place on wax paper-lined baking sheet. Once the baking sheet is full, lay another sheet of wax paper on top and layer more crab cakes on that. 

8. Cover crab cakes with paper towels and refrigerate at least one hour or up to overnight. 

9. Heat remaining olive oil over high heat in a nonstick skillet until oil is bubbling and drops of water sizzle on the pan. 

10. Carefully place crab cakes 1 at a time in the oil and fry 3 minutes on each side. Let crab cakes drain on a paper-towel-lined plate. 

11. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce. 

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!