Crawfish Cakes With Lemon Butter Sauce

Molly53's Note:

An appetizing first course from the flavor center of the universe, Louisiana. Courtesy of Chef Dick Brennan, Jr. of the Palace Cafe, featured in The Louisiana New Garde television series. If you do not have access to crawfish meat, please feel free to substitute shrimp or lobster.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 10 mins
• Prep Time: 1 hrs
• Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

Crawfish Cakes

• ½ cup butter
• 2 cups onions , peeled and diced
• 1 cup celery , diced
• 1 cup red bell pepper , seeded and diced
• 1 cup green bell pepper , seeded and diced
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon Tabasco sauce (or other Louisiana style hot sauce)
• 1 lb crawfish tail meat
• 2 ounces romano cheese , grated (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 cup dry breadcrumbs
• salt and pepper , to taste
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 tablespoons flour , for dusting

Lemon Butter Sauce

• 2 lemons , juice of
• ¼ cup dry white wine (Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc)
• 1 cup butter , cut into tablespoons

Directions:

1. To make the crawfish cakes: Melt the butter in a large skillet and saute the vegetables until tender, about five minutes.
2. Add the Worcestershire, hot sauce and crawfish; cook about three minutes or until the crawfish are heated through.
3. Remove from heat and add remaining ingredients; mix thoroughly, transfer to a cookie sheet and chill in refrigerator at least 45 minutes or overnight.
4. Form into 8 round cakes of about 1/2 cup each.
5. Dust with flour.
6. Heat olive oil in a skillet and cook cakes until golden on each side.
7. For the Sauce: Combine the lemon juice and wine in a saucepan; cook over medium heat until reduced by half.
8. Lower heat and whisk in butter a tablespoon at a time.
9. To serve, ladle a little sauce on warmed salad plates; place two cakes on each.