Cajun Crawfish/Crab Cakes With Spicy Red Pepper Sauce

Dawn's Note:

This is an adaption of a South Beach recipe. The features that make it a healthier and lower carb recipe are still in place, but I've added a Cajun twist to it. The result is a delicious crawfish patty with a tasty, spicy red pepper sauce. The original recipe calls for crab and it is just as tasty.

• Total Time: 40 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

Red Pepper Sauce

• 2 roasted red peppers (the variety that comes in a jar)
• ½ cup fat-free mayonnaise
• ¼-½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ½ teaspoon seasoning salt

Crawfish or Crab Cakes

• 3 teaspoons olive oil , divided
• ½ onion , chopped
• 1 stalk celery , chopped
• 2 eggs , beaten
• 2 tablespoons ground walnuts
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons fat-free mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon cajun seasoning
• ½ teaspoon crab boil seasoning (like Old Bay)
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• ½ teaspoon mustard powder
• ¼ teaspoon crushed celery seed
• ½ teaspoon ground paprika
• 1 lb crawfish meat or 1 lb crabmeat
• ½-1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
• 1 cup whole wheat bread crumbs

Directions:

1. Red Pepper Sauce: Puree roasted red peppers in a blender, then add mayonnaise and spices.
2. Set aside and refrigerate.
3. Crawfish Cakes: Heat 1 teaspoons olive oil in sauté pan, sauté onion and celery until soft.
4. Place in a large mixing bowl.
5. Mix remaining ingredients except bread crumbs.
6. Place half of seafood mixture in a blender or processor and puree and return to mixing bowl and stir together.
7. Place bread crumbs evenly on a cookie sheet.
8. Form about 8 patties and coat them with bread crumbs.
9. Heat remaining 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a pan and cook patties in batches.
10. Cook for about 2-3 minutes each side until brown and crisp on outside.
11. Serve with red pepper sauce.

Reviews

[Madray7]

I made these as crab cakes for a Mardi Gras party. They are a bit time consuming to make, but well worth it. The Red Pepper Sauce with the crab cakes made them even better.

[A la Carte]

Thanks for the great dinner Dawn!!! Very easy but very elegant at the same time. Served over a bed of mixed greens this was a great light summer meal. Looked very pretty too. I will make this again very soon! Because I read C in PA review about the filler, I used 2 lbs of crawfish, but followed the recipe otherwise. This worked out awesome!!! My dh and I were very happy. It was quick enough for our weeknight dinner, but it made a nice change from our usual routine. The sauce is fantastic (I did use 1/4 cup mayo and 1/4 cup sour cream though, and added 1 chopped garlic clove too). Thank you again for submitting.

[Laura Martin]

I used crawfish that I found frozen at the local grocery. The cakes were very delicious and easy to cook. Tedious to put together though. My friends loved them. Will make again.