Lenten Crab Meal

I'm always looking for great meatless dishes to eat during Lent.  Crab is one of my favorite ingredients and Lent gives me a great opportunity to eat crab.  With this meal, I incorporated crab into the main entree as well as two sides.  The meal is baked crabcakes, crab slaw, crab gratin, and steamed asparagus.  Everything in this dish is of course, gluten free.

I love crabcakes, but I hate when they are filled with breadcrumbs.  When I make crabcakes, I leave the bread crumbs out all together.  Who needs all that filling? Not me! I've made them with very little gluten free breadcrumbs, but I always find way back to baking crab meat with no breading or breadcrumbs.  It's just not necessary in my book.

I don't usually approve of using canned items in my recipes, but when it comes to crabcakes, I really don't feel like cracking open three pounds of crab legs without enjoying them immediately.  Sure, if you have the time and the will power to set them aside, you'll make an even better crabcake.  For now, I'm just going to use canned crab and save the legs for sushi and me.

I decided to try a crab slaw.  It's something I made up on the spot. It was a mix of seviche and coleslaw.  It was cool and crunchy with a bit of a bite to it.  It was good in a small quantity, but I definitely would keep this a an edible garnish rather than an entire side.

The habanero crab gratin was a bit spicy for my liking, but if you like hot peppers, you may want to add a bit more heat than I added.  I used three small slices of habanero and chopped them up finely.  Then sautéed them with the green onions in butter to begin the gratin.   I'm told this was delicious side dish, but it just wasn't my kind of taste.  Perhaps next time I will use chili peppers instead of habanero peppers.  

                                                         Baked Crabcakes

1/2 can lump or special crab meat

1/2 teaspoon spicy brown mustard

1/2 teaspoon franks red hot

1 egg lightly beaten

1 green onion top chopped

1 tablespoon melted butter

A couple pieces of fresh dill

Mix egg, butter, mustard, dill, hot sauce, and green onions in a small bowl.  In a larger bowl, pour mixture over crab meat and fold slightly until just combined. Spoon on to an aluminum foil lined baking sheet and set aside in refrigerator until ready to cook.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F and bake for 15 mins.

Crab Slaw

1 radish peeled and chopped

1/2 carrot shredded

1/2 lemon or Meyer lemon juiced

1/4 can crab meat

1 clove garlic minced

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and set aside in refrigerator until ready to garnish plate.

Steamed Asparagus 

Cut woody part of steams about 1-2 inches off the bottom of each asparagus spear.  Steam asparagus in steamer for 8-10 minutes or until tender. Salt and butter to taste.