Crab Cakes

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon seafood seasoning, such as Old Bay
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
• 2 green onions, finely chopped
• 2 large egg yolks
• 2-3 Tablespoons milk
• 1 pound jumbo lump crabmeat
• 3 cups fresh breadcrumbs
• vegetable oil, for frying

Aioli

• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/2 cup roasted red bell peppers, drained, patted dry
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• salt and pepper

Directions

Place the crab meat, green onions, and bell pepper in a large mixing bowl, being very gentle to not break up the lumps. Combine the egg, mayonnaise, mustard, seafood seasoning, cayenne, Worcestershire, and parsley in a small mixing bowl. Mix until everything is well incorporated. Add the mixture to the crab meat; add breadcrumbs on top.

Fold everything together lightly until just combined. Again, be very careful not to break up the crab meat. Using your hands, form a desired amount of mixture onto a tight ball shape and place into the refrigerator to chill.

Place a large nonstick skillet over medium to medium-high heat, adding enough vegetable oil to generously coat the bottom of the pan, about 1/4-inch. Add the crab cakes to the hot skillet, pressing down lightly to form a cake (do not smash into a pancake, this will dry it out). Cook until deep golden brown, about 6 minutes, and flip gently, cooking to the same degree on the opposite side. Remove from the skillet and drain off the excess oil on paper towels.

To make the aioli: Finely chop the garlic in the food processor. Add the peppers and blend until almost smooth. Blend in the mayonnaise. With the machine running, blend in the oil. Season the aioli, to taste, with salt and pepper.