Maryland Crab Cakes With Sun-Dried Tomato Aioli

From Silvia Lehrer's cooking column in Dan's Papers from the East End of Long Island, NY. This recipe comes from a Baltimore resident, Helen Wheatley Parker.

• Ready In: 35 mins
• Serves: 6
• Yields: 1/2 cup aioli

Ingredients

• Crab cakes

• 2  tablespoons canola oil (or vegetable oil)
• 2  scallions, trimmed, thinly sliced
• 1  celery rib, inner rib, trimmed, diced fine
• 1⁄2 red bell pepper, seeded, diced fine
• 1  extra large egg
• 1  teaspoon  Old Bay Seasoning
• 1  tablespoon light mayonnaise
• 1⁄2 teaspoon Dijon mustard (or Verjus mustard)
• 1  tablespoon flat leaf parsley, chopped
•  kosher salt
•  fresh ground pepper
• 1  lb lump crabmeat, picked over
• 2  tablespoons  plain breadcrumbs, plus extra for coating the cakes
• 2 -3  tablespoons Crisco shortening

• Sun-Dried Tomato Aioli

• 3  tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, pureed
• 1⁄2 cup light mayonnaise

Directions

1. For the crab cakes: Heat oil in large skillet and add the scallions, celery and red pepper dice. Saute for 4-5 minutes until vegetables are barely tender.
2. Remove from heat, transfer to a plate and let cool.
3. In a mixing bowl, beat the egg and whisk in the Old Bay, mayonnaise, mustard, salt, pepper and parsley.
4. Add the cooled vegetable mixture and stir to mix.
5. Add crab meat and 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs and stir gently to mix, be careful not to break up the crab meat.
6. Scoop about one-half cup of the mixture for each cake and shape them. Use extra crumbs to coat the outside if cakes are too moist.
7. Arrange on a plate, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15-20 minutes.
8. When ready to cook, melt shortening in a skillet over medium heat. Put crab cakes in 3-4 at a time and saute until golden brown, no longer than 3 minutes per side.
9. To make the aioli simply add the sun-dried tomatoes and the mayonnaise together and stir well to mix.
10. Taste for additional seasoning (salt and pepper) and refrigerate until ready to serve.