Moroccanspicedcrabcakes Recipes

Steps:

• Cilantro-Orange Dressing.
• In a saucepan, boil the orange juice over moderately high heat until reduced to 2 tablespoons, about 8 minutes. Let cool, then transfer to a blender.
• Meanwhile, in a small dry skillet, toast the cumin seeds over moderate heat, shaking the pan occasionally, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Grind the cumin in a mortar or spice grinder.
• Add the cumin to the blender along with the cilantro and lemon juice and blend until smooth. With the blender on, add the canola oil in a thin, steady stream. Season with salt and cayenne.
• Crab Cakes.
• Heat the olive oil in a nonstick skillet. Add the red pepper and celery and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until the vegetables are just softened, about 2 minutes. Add the scallions and ginger and cook until the scallions are wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the cumin, turmeric and cardamom and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the cream and boil until reduced by half, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and let cool slightly.
• Add the crabmeat to the cream mixture along with 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon of the bread crumbs, 1 1/2 tablespoons each of the parsley and chives, and the lemon zest. Season with cayenne and salt and mix gently but thoroughly.
• With moistened hands, shape the crab mixture into 8 cakes, using a scant 1/3 cup for each; the cakes should be about 3 inches wide and 3/4 inch thick. Spread the remaining bread crumbs on a large plate. Coat the crab cakes with the bread crumbs and transfer to a baking sheet lined with wax paper.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of the canola oil in a medium nonstick skillet. Add half of the crab cakes and cook until browned and crisp, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a platter. Repeat with the remaining canola oil and crab cakes. Arrange the crab cakes on plates, drizzle with the Cilantro-Orange Dressing and garnish with the remaining 1/2 tablespoon each of the parsley and chives.

Steps:

• Mix all but flour and oil together in a large bowl.
• Form 16 patties using 1/4 cup of the mix to about 1/3 inch thick. Use floured hands if necessary.
• Coat each patty with the flour, hitting to knock off any excess of flour.
• Shallow fry in vegetable oil on medium to medium high heat until deep golden brown.
• If you need to, you can refrigerate the floured patties to cook off an hour or so later or for ease in handling if you have difficulty. I have not found the need to do either.
• These are a simple cake and not meant to be fancy; just really tasty. You can also replace the scallions with onions if you have no scallions. In Morocco and The Maghreb, we use what we have and don't worry about what we don't have. Fresh garlic is the best alternative you can use though as we don't have dried powdered here.