Recipe courtesy of Jonathan Waxman
Dungeness Crab Tacos
- Level: Intermediate
- Yield: 8 servings
-
- Nutritional Analysis
- Per Serving
- Serving Size
- 1 of 8 servings
- Calories
- 1205
- Total Fat
- 90
- Saturated Fat
- 9
- Carbohydrates
- 86
- Dietary Fiber
- 17
- Sugar
- 7
- Protein
- 23
- Cholesterol
- 28
- Sodium
- 978
- Total: 1 hr 25 min
- Active: 1 hr 20 min
Ingredients
Hazelnut Salsa:
1 cup grapeseed oil
4 ancho chiles, seeded and stemmed
2 morita chiles, seeded and stemmed
1 chile de arbol, seeded and stemmed
4 cloves garlic
1/2 cup hazelnuts
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
Crab Cakes:
2 pints freshly picked Dungeness crab
3 ounces Japanese mayonnaise, such as Kewpie
2 cups fine yellow cornmeal
2 Fresno chiles, seeded and sliced
1 pound pencil asparagus, trimmed
Guacamole:
1 white onion, minced
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 jalapeño, minced
Sea salt
1 lime, juiced
2 avocados
Tacos:
Neutral cooking oil, for frying
Two 10-ounce packages nixtamal tortillas
4 ounces slivered raw almonds
1 ounce sesame seeds
Directions
Special equipment:
a deep-fry thermometer; a deep-fryer; taco-frying tongs- For the hazelnut salsa: Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat, then add all the chiles and garlic cloves. Cook until tender and just starting to toast, about 2 minutes. Add the hazelnuts, sesame seeds, vinegar and sugar and cook until caramelized, about 3 minutes. Add everything to a blender and puree until sauce-like.
- For the crab cakes: Combine the crab, mayo, 2 tablespoons hazelnut salsa and 1 ounce cornmeal in a bowl. Form into 8 rectangular crab cakes that will fit into tacos. Dust with additional cornmeal and set aside. Dust the Fresno chile slices and asparagus with cornmeal and reserve.
- For the guacamole: Combine the onions, cilantro, jalapeños and sea salt to taste in a bowl. Mash together, then add lime juice to taste. Mash the avocados in a bowl, then add 1/2 teaspoon sea salt. Add to the onion-cilantro mixture.
- For the tacos: Heat 1/2-inch oil in a cast-iron skillet until 225 degrees F and preheat a deep-fryer to 350 degrees F.
- Fry the tortillas in a taco shape in the deep-fryer using taco-frying tongs. Set aside on a paper towel-lined sheet tray and repeat as needed. Deep-fry the Fresno chiles and asparagus until golden and crispy. Drain on paper towels.
- Cook the crab cakes in the skillet until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Repeat as needed.
- Top each crab cake in a taco shell with 1 ounce salsa, 1/2 ounce guacamole, then the Fresno chile chips, asparagus, almonds and sesame seeds.