These crab cakes are Weight Watcher friendly as they are only 3 points. Paired with a lovely fresh salad you have a 3 point meal.

Ingredients

Crabcakes:
12 oz. Crab meat
1/4 c chives, chopped
1/2 c red bell pepper, minced
2 Tbs. lime juice,
1/4 lowfat mayo
2 tsps. Togarashi
3/4 c bread crumbs
S & P, to taste
2 tsps. Ghee
2 pairs Kaffir_Lime leaf, fresh, slivered with center stem removed

Sauce:
Chipotle Hollandaise Sauce
1 c of Hollandaise Sauce (pre-packaged or from a traditional recipe)
1 tsp. Chipotle puree* (more, or less, to taste)
Garnish:
Lemon-infused EVOO
Cilantro leaves,
Fresh Chives, whole

Instructions

To prepare the Crabcakes:
Place the crab meat, chopped chives, minced bell pepper, lime juice, mayonnaise, Togarashi, Magroot leaf and ¼ cup bread crumbs in a non-reactive mixing bowl. Toss lightly together and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Fill 6 - 2 3/4" bottomless ring molds with the crab mixture and pack tightly. Dust the tops and bottoms of the molds with the remaining ¼ cup of bread crumbs. The Crabcakes may be kept in a refrigerator until ready to sauté and serve.

Just prior to serving, sauté the Crabcakes in the molds in a very hot pan in clarified butter (Ghee) for 1-2 minutes on each side until golden brown. Blot on paper towel (or drain on parchment paper) and carefully remove molds.

Special Notes


To serve:
Place a generous swirl of the Chipotle Hollandaise on each plate and place a Crabcake on top. Drizzle the plate with Lemon-infused Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Place 3 large Cilantro leaves on the plate and cross the top of the Crabcake with 2 whole chives.

Togarashi is a Japanese condiment that is available in small shaker vials at most Japanese or Asian specialty stores. It is a combination of chili pepper, black and white sesame seeds, orange peel, ginger and seaweed that adds a very special and unique flavor to the Crabcakes.

Ghee is clarified butter that can be found in most Indian specialty markets. We prefer it because it has a much higher flash point than regular butter, and doesn't smoke or burn as easily, while still adding authentic butter flavor.

Magroot (Kaffir Lime) is a lime variety indigenous to Thailand. The leaves have a very unique citrus flavor and are frequently used in Thai cooking. They may be found fresh or frozen in many Oriental specialty markets.

*Thai smoked chiles are difficult to come by in the US, so I have substituted Chipotles. The only place I know to buy the Thai smoked chiles is in the back of the Warrarut Market in Chiang Mai. The Hilltribes grow and smoke these large chile. Amazing!

Chipotle is the dried, smoked Jalapeno pepper frequently used in Mexican cuisine. It is available in Mexican specialty markets, canned in an Adobo sauce. To use, pour the contents of a can in a food processor or blender and process until a smooth paste is formed. The paste will keep, refrigerated, and can be used to add flavor and spice to a wide variety of dishes.

Lemon-infused Extra Virgin Olive Oil is made by adding the oil from lemons to extra virgin olive oil. It is generally bottled in Italy (some is now being made in California), and is available in better gourmet specialty markets.

If you use Knorr pkg Hollandaise use Low Fat Milk and 1 Tablespoon butter

Serve with a huge romaine salad with cucumbers, red peppers, green onions, tomatoes, tossed with 2 Tablespoons of Spicy Thai Salad Dressing (Vientiane Trading co.) Ganish with Daikon Sprouts. Salad and dressing 0 points.

You can used canned crab. I often use Philipp's canned Thai crab, available at Costco and other stores.