Crawfish Patties

I recently ordered Crawfish Cakes (like crab cakes) at a restaurant and just loved them. I looked here but couldn't find anything similar to them, so I modified a crab cake recipe of mine and it turned out fabulous. Use frozen crawfish chopped up, or substitute crab for the original recipe. I haven't tried it, but I also think this would work with chopped cooked shrimp. UPDATE: Following a review suggestion, I next time I tried this I added some green onion and chopped cilantro and it definitely was an improvement.

• Ready In: 20 mins
• Serves: 6
• Yields: 12 patties

Ingredients

• Sauce

• 1⁄2 cup mayonnaise
• 2  tablespoons pesto sauce (I use store-bought)

• Patties

• 1  lb  frozen crawfish, thawed and chopped
• 1⁄2 cup  Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
• 1⁄3 cup mayonnaise
• 2  tablespoons pesto sauce
• 1  egg, beaten
• 1⁄2 cup green onion, sliced
• 1⁄4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (or your favorite herb)
• 2  tablespoons olive oil

Directions

1. In a small bowl, combine sauce ingredients. Cover and refrigerate until serving time.
2. In a large bowl, combine all patty ingredients except oil.
3. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.
4. Add spoon 1/3 cup mixture into skillet for each patty, cooking 4-5 minutes on each side or until golden brown. The patties will be very loose when you first flip them over. Use a spatula to flatten them after they are flipped, and flip again if needed until they firm up.
5. Drain on paper towels.
6. Serve patties topped with sauce or cocktail sauce.