Blue Crab Cake Pannini

Recipe courtesy Jodi Jones-Smith
Show: All American Festivals Episode: The Hard Crab Derby - Crisfield, MD
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 8 servings

GRAND PRIZE WINNER
Maryland Blue Crab Cakes:

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/3 cup minced celery
1/3 cup minced green onion, plus 1/4 cup
1/2 cup cracker crumbs
1 egg
2 tablespoons minced parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons seafood seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pound lump Maryland blue crabmeat
To assemble:
8 semi-hard round buns
8 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Onion Relish, recipe follows

Basil Sauce, recipe follows

Heat the oil in a saut=E9 pan over medium high heat. Saut=E9 celery and
1/3cup
green onions until soft. Set aside.

Preheat the broiler.
In a large bowl, mix the cracker crumbs, 1/4 cup green onions, egg,
parsley,
seafood seasoning, and salt. Add the saut=E9ed onion and celery, and the
crabmeat and gently mix.
Form the crab mixture into 8 cakes using either a round mold or your
hands.
Place the cakes, not touching, on a metal baking sheet. Broil the crab
cakes
for about 4 minutes. Gently turn them over, careful not to break them, and
broil the other side. At the end of 8 minutes, they should be nicely
browned.
Heat stovetop grill on medium high heat. Alternately, you can make this
recipe on an outdoor grill. "Crown" the buns by cutting off the rounded
tops
with a bread knife. This will leave you with 8 buns with flat tops. Cut in
half lengthwise, if not already split. Brush the outsides with olive oil.
On the inside of the top half of each bun, spread about 1 tablespoon of
the
basil sauce and 1/2 tablespoon of the onion relish. You can vary the
amounts
to your taste. Place a crab cake on the bottom half of the bun and cover
with the top half of the bun.
Grill each sandwich for 1 to 2 minutes per side. While you grill, press
down
on the sandwich with a metal spatula. This will flatten the sandwich, and
make pretty grill marks on the bun. The sandwich is done when it is
lightly
browned on each side. Cut the sandwiches into halves or quarters and
serve.

Basil Sauce:

2 small garlic cloves
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, washed
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
3/4 cup mayonnaise
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Mix all ingredients in a food processor and set aside.

Onion Relish:

1/2 cup red onion, chopped
1/2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano
Toss the ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.

SOURCE: THIS 'N THAT FROM THE HEARTLAND

FROM ANN IN FLA

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