Friday has rolled around again which means another American recipe Made in Italy.

It wasn’t hard to think of what I would like to treat myself too if I were on a trip back to the States - one of my all-time favorites and definitely all-American …. crab cakes.

Of course, I had to search high and low for crab here and, unfortunately, fresh crab was out of the question. But, I made do with what I had and, although I know they would have been better had I been able to find some fresh crab, they were still mighty tasty.

If you can find fresh crab where you are, you’ll need to steam them, break them open, and remove the meat (making sure you don’t get any shell bits in there). If you can’t, it’s best to use frozen crab (not surimi, otherwise known as fake crab) although you could probably used canned crab as well, just be prepared for a less flavorful crabcake.

So, on to the recipe…..

Ingredients

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon of dry mustard
1 teaspoon of Worcestershire Sauce (yes I have found this in Italy)
2 large eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 pound crab meat
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
salt
1/4 teaspoon paprika
a pinch (or 2 or 3) cayenne or hot red pepper
oil for frying

Be sure to use fresh bread crumbs, otherwise the crab cakes will be a bit dry.

Mix together the parsley, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, eggs, mayonnaise and spices. Add the crab meat and bread crumbs, mixing gently so as not to break up the crab meat. Divide the mixture evenly into 6 to 8 crabcakes and flatten gently into thick patties. Cover each patty lightly with more breadcrumbs. It’s best to make these earlier in the day and then put them in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before cooking.

Now, heat enough oil to cover the bottom of a frying pan over medium-high heat, then add the crab cakes, in batches if need be, frying until golden-brown - about 4 minutes per side. Remove and drain on paper towels. Serve immediately.

As you can see, I served mine with hush puppies and red-beet salad, but they’re great with cole slaw (which Barb will be making for us on May 23).

Tortini di Granchio

Quando penso alle ricette americane che mi piaciono, penso spesso ai Tortini di Granchio.

Purtroppo, è un po’ difficile trovare la polpa di granchio qui in Italia, almeno dove abito io. E’ sempre meglio usare il granchio fresco quando possibile. Dovete cuocere i granchi al vapore e rimuovere la carne. Quando non è possibile usare quello fresco, è meglio usare la polpa congelata. Si può sempre usare la polpa in scatola ma i tortini perderanno un po’ di sapore.

Ingredienti

2 cucchiai di prezzemolo tritato
mezzo cucchiaino di senape in polvere
1 cucchiaino di salsa Worcestershire
1 cucchiaino di succo di limone
2 uova, sbattute
2 cucchiai di maionese
450 gr. polpa di granchio
54 gr. pane grattugiato (fresco)
sale
mezzo cucchiaino di paprika
pizzico di peperoncino
olio per friggere

E’ meglio usare il pane grattugiato fresco altrimenti i tortini possono essere troppo secchi.

Mescolate insieme il prezzemolo, la senape, la salsa Worcestershire, le uova sbattute, la maionese, la paprika e il peperoncino. Aggiungete la polpa di granchio e il pane grattugiato, mescolando delicatamente per non rompere la polpa di granchio. Dividete la miscela in 6 a 8 tortini spessi. Coprite ogni tortino con un po’ di pane grattugiato. E’ meglio fare i tortini almeno un mezz’ora prima e metterli nel frigorifero prima di cuocerli. In una padella, mettete abbastanza olio da coprire il fondo e riscaldatelo su fuoco medio-alto. Aggiungete i tortini farli rosolare - circa 4 minuti per lato.

Lasciateli scolare e serviteli immediatamente.

Per un contorno perfetto, serviteli con “Cole Slaw” che Barb farà per noi il 23 maggio.

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