Crab Cakes with Lemon-Dill Sauce

Ingredients

Lemon Dill Sauce:

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill leaves
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 garlic clove, minced

Crab Cakes:

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 green onion, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped red bell pepper
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh parsley
• Cayenne pepper
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 1 pound white or claw crabmeat, picked free of any bits of shell
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions

To make the sauce, combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and stir well. Refrigerate until chilled. The sauce will thicken as it chills.

To prepare the crab cakes, melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Saute the onion, bell pepper, and garlic until the pepper is limp, approximately 3 minutes. Add the cream, mustard, 1 egg, parsley, cayenne pepper and 1/2 cup bread crumbs, to taste, and mix well. Gently fold in the crabmeat.

Form the mixture into 8 patties, about 1/2-inch thick. In a mixing bowl, combine the remaining 1/2 cup of bread crumbs with the Parmesan. Pat this topping onto both sides of the patties. Refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.

Using a skillet, combine the oil and remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Saute the crab cakes in the hot oil-butter mixture for approximately 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown. These crab cakes can also be baked for 7 to 10 minutes in a 400 degree F oven.

To serve, spoon a dollop of the lemon dill sauce along side each crab cake.