Crab Cakes With Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

My Aunt {Hi Aunt Edie!} asked for the recipe for my favorite Crab Cake sauce, so I figured I might as well share it with y'all too.

Source: wholefoodsmarket.com via Janna on Pinterest

It is actually a Whole Foods Recipe that is now available on Pinterest, but I baked them instead of nasty frying and upped the spice. I always up the spice.

Makes about 24 small crab cakes, enough for 8 appe.

Ingredients:

1 pound lump crabmeat
4 green onions, thinly sliced
2/3 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
1 1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seafood seasoning
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 egg
6 tablespoons mayonnaise, divided
1/4 cup chopped jarred roasted red bell pepper
2 teaspoons hot sauce
1 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon expeller-pressed canola oil, more if needed

I used 2 tbs Dijon Mustard and 1 tsp dry mustard
Subbed Miracle Whip Light (Hubby's choice)
I did not need the oil and baked them on tin foil for less clean up so they didn't stick.
I added more hot sauce in the sauce, but don't go overboard. 
I chose Frank's Red Hot. It's my go-to.
You need 1 tsp Baking Powder if you decide to bake.

Method:

Place crab meat in a large bowl and use your fingers to gently feel for and remove any pieces of shell or cartilage. Add green onions, bread crumbs, seafood seasoning and pepper and toss to combine. In a small bowl, whisk together mustard, egg and 2 tablespoons of the mayonnaise and pour over the crab mixture.
{and 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp dry mustard}
Toss until combined, cover and refrigerate 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the sauce. In a blender {food processor or immersion blender works even better}, combine bell pepper, hot sauce, zest and remaining 4 tablespoons mayonnaise; blend until smooth. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

To Fry:
Form the crab mixture into 24 small cakes, each about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, fry cakes until nicely browned and cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Drain briefly on a paper-towel lined plate and serve warm with the pepper sauce.

To Bake:
Preheat oven to 375*
Grease baking sheet or line with tinfoil.
I didn't worry about mini cakes. I just formed regular sized Crab Cakes 3/4 inch thick, spread them on the tinfoil (spaced so that they have room to crisp up on all sides), and baked for 15 min. Turn cakes over (gently) and bake an additional 10-15 minutes. They should be a nice brown color on top.

Nutritional Info:
PER SERVING:Serving size: about 3 mini cakes, 150 calories (100 from fat), 11g total fat, 1.5g saturated fat, 45mg cholesterol, 340mg sodium, 6g carbohydrate (1g dietary fiber, 1g sugar), 5g protein If you make eight large Crab Cakes, the nutrition is equivalent to three mini cakes, only a little better and less fat! Woohoo.

I could eat that Roasted Red Pepper sauce on EVERYTHING.
I'm just gonna have to make this again soon.

You will almost never see anything fried in my house. Hubby even has his own fryer and I won't eat out of it; I would rather faux-fry everything in the oven. I eat fried foods when we eat out, so why would I do it at home when I have the option to make a healthy choice? We even get the dishes done while the food bakes instead of standing at the stove for half an hour getting popped by unhealthy frying grease. Easy and healthy is the way to go. Don't you think?