The Betty Crocker Project : Crab Cakes with Tartar Sauce

Until I lived in Virginia, I was really not aware of what can only be called The Chesapeake Bay Crab Cake Phenomenon. It's impossible to ignore all the crab themed items littering every store along this coastline. Aprons, cereal bowls, utensils of any kind, beanie babies, lollipops, mechanical claws for picking up things less than 2 feet away - whatever the kitschy knick knack - you can find one with a smiling cartoon crab it - eager to be eaten. Disturbing doesn't even begin to describe it. It's like those BBQ places with the happy pig on the sign - In what bizarre mind does that make sense? I think Kermit said it best.

I can't really remember ever eating a meaty crab cake before I went vegan but now I feel like I see them on every menu and sandwich board on every corner. People really love their crab cakes around here - poor little sea spiders.

Betty has quite a few seafood recipes in her book. I have to admit I was looking forward to veganizing her crab cakes to see what all the fuss was about. So, we had prepared ourselves for experimenting with the wide variety of faux seafood out there - when the most amazing thing began to happen. We started getting emails from readers telling us to try this new mock meat called MATCH. Hmmmm  - Curious.

We ordered the faux crab and waited impatiently. All I can say is  TOTALLY WORTH THE WAIT! Vegan Crab Cakes are pretty much awesome and expect to see more MATCH Mock Meat .

Crab Cakes 

• 1/3 Cup Vegannaise
• 1 Tablespoon EnerG Egg Replacer (just the powder not made per the instructions on the box)
• 2 Pieces of Bread turned into Soft Bread Crumbs ( just put them in a blender or food processor till they are nothing but crumbs)
• 1 Teaspoon Ground Mustard 
• 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
• 1/8 Teaspoon Lemon Pepper
• 1/4 Teaspoon Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning
• 2 Green Onions (chopped)
• 6oz of MATCH Crab Meat (it's vegan mock crab meat and I would recommend it)
• 1/4 Cup Dry Bread Crumbs (be sure and read your label to make sure it is vegan - we used Old Bay Dry Bread  Crumbs for a little extra flavor)
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil 

In a bowl, mix Vegannaise and EnerG Egg Replacer with a whisk. Stir in remaining ingredients except Olive Oil and Dry Bread Crumbs. Shape mixture into 6 - 7 patties about the size of your palms. Put your Dry Bread Crumbs into a shallow bowl. Coat each patty with Dry Bread Crumbs.

In your beloved little cast iron skillet, heat the Olive Oil over a medium heat. Place patties in the Oil once hot. This is an important tip - don't crowd the patties. They will stick together or break apart when you bump them when you flip other patties. Give them room. Cook patties till they are golden brown on each side.

Tartar Sauce

• 1 Cup Vegannaise 
• 2 Tablespoon Sweet Pickle Relish 
• 1 Tablespoon Fresh Parsley (chopped)
• 2 Teaspoon Pimiento (chopped)
• 1 Teaspoon Dijon Mustard 
• 1/4 Teaspoon Onion Powder 
• 1/4 Teaspoon Nutritional Yeast 

Mix all the ingredients and eat up!