Salt & Vinegar Chip Crab Cakes

I can’t believe that I almost missed this month of the Improv Cooking Challenge as I just have not been able to get my act together lately;  I just seem unable to sit down at the computer and actually blog.  Life has been busy and come night time, I just haven’t been in the mood to open up my laptop.  Not only have I been neglectful on this blog, but also on our family blog, Moments with Maisie.  I mean seriously, it took me a month and a half to post the pictures from our recent transatlantic cruise and time in Barcelona.  My posting was so slow that friends and family called and emailed to see if we were okay because it took so long to post!  Well today I’m making up for it… a bit.  A catch-up post on Moments with Maisie and finally, a new recipe here. 

This month for the Improv Cooking Challenge our hostess Kristen of Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker challenged the participating bloggers to make any recipe of their choosing using the specified ingredients of fish & chips!  She actually opened the scope of the challenge quite a bit as items like Swedish fish and chocolate chips could be counted as valid challenge fish and chip ingredients.  I thought about going the sweet route but in the end decided to go savory, a bit more traditional fish & chips…but with a twist. 

Now if I made traditional English fish & chips, well Eammon would be all over that one considering that he’s from London and next to Chicken Tikka Masala, it’s his fave!  I enjoy a good fish & chips dinner once in (rare) while but Maisie with her allergies, well it’s not something that she ever eats because I don’t deep fry and when we’re out, it’s not Maisie “safe”.  I thought about topping a nice piece of fish with some potato chips but as I did something similar for the July challenge with my Fritos Crusted Pollock, I needed something a bit different. 

I was looking in the freezer and saw that I had crabmeat and Maisie’s been on a salt & vinegar potato chip kick lately, and it hit me… crab cakes made with salt & vinegar chips.  I knew that Maisie would love them as would Eammon, I mean fish, potato and vinegar…well yum!

And well YUM these were, and easy too!  They are Maisie “safe” as they don’t contain wheat, egg or dairy like traditional crab cakes but instead use a combination of chia seed and flax seed as the binders.  The crab cakes were simple and the flavor of the crab was the star with hints of the potato chips.  I served the crab cakes simply with fresh from the garden peppers and tomatoes and an extra serving of salt & vinegar chips.  A delicious and healthy fish & chips meal which was a huge hit with all of us in the Cook Lisa Cook home.

Salt & Vinegar Chip Crab Cakes

• 1 pound crabmeat, picked free of shells
• 3/4 cup crushed salt & vinegar potato chips
• 3 green onions, green and white parts finely chopped
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 1 TBS. chia seed 
• 3 TBS. golden flax seed 
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard 
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 
• 1 teaspoon sea salt 
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper 
• corn starch, for dusting
• salt & pepper, to taste
• peanut oil or oil of your choice

In a large bowl mix together all ingredients except for the corn starch, salt & pepper (to taste) and peanut oil.  In a smaller bowl mix together the corn starch and season with the salt and pepper.   Using a large cookie scoop, portion out the crab mixture and shape into patties (I got 15 patties).  Dust each of the patties on all sides with the corn starch mixture. 

Over medium-high heat, heat a large cast iron skillet and add just enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan.  When the oil is hot, carefully place the crab cakes, in batches, into the pan and fry until browned and then carefully flip the crab cakes and fry on other side until golden brown.  Serve hot, plain, with some malt vinegar or sauce of your choice.

Enjoy!

My previous Improv Cooking Challenge entries:

May 2013  Cinnamon & Sugar:  Cinnamon Bun Cookie Bars  
April 2013  Bacon & Eggs:  Mini Bacon & Swiss Quiche Cups 
March 2013  Carrots & Peas:  Mom’s Beef Vegetable Soup 
February 2013  Hearts & Flours:  Three Ingredient Fudgy Nutella Brownie Bites
January 2013  Bananas & Nutmeg:  Baked Bananas 
December 2012  Chocolate & Marshmallows:  White Chocolate Marshmallow Cranberry Cashew Bark    
November 2012  Sweet Potatoes & honey: Sweet Potato Glass Noodles with Honey Garlic Lime Shrimp 
October 2012  Oatmeal & Raisins:  S’mores Granola Bars   
September 2012  Zucchini & Brown Sugar:  Zucchini with Onion & Brown Sugar 
August 2012  Tomatoes & Peppers:  French Fries Hash Browns 
July 2012  Corn & Butter:  Fritos Crusted Pollock 
June 2012  Cherries & Almonds:  Dried Cherry Almond Tart 
May 2012  Strawberries & Cream:  Strawberry Soup 
April 2012  Peanut butter & Jelly:  Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars 
March 2012  Potato & Cheese:  Loaded Potato & Buffalo Chicken Casserole 
February 2012  Ginger & Carrots:  Shrimp & Avocado Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing 
January 2012 Lemon & Sour Cream:  Ponderosa Lemon & Sour Cream Tart 
December 2011 Eggnog & Cranberries:  Eggnog Popovers with Cranberry Butter 
November 2011 Pumpkin & Cream Cheese:  Praline Pumpkin Cheesecake
October 2011 Caramel & Apples:  Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies