Gluten-Free Crab Cakes with Ginger and Lime

Celiac.com 02/25/2014 - Winter is crab season on the west coast. I'm a crab cake lover from way back, but they nearly always contain wheat flour, so I generally avoid them since going gluten-free.

This simple gluten-free version combines fresh crab with ginger, lime and a dash of hot sauce to deliver a light, flavorful crab cake.

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Ingredients:

• 8 ounces fresh lump crab meat, cleaned and free of any shell pieces
• 4 small whole scallions, minced
• 2 tablespoons cilantro, minced
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger root
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lime zest
• 1 teaspoon lime juice
• ½ to 1 teaspoon sriracha, or any hot sauce of choice, to taste
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons of crushed Rice Chex for crab mixture
• ¾ cup of crushed Rice Chex for breading
• ½ cup tapioca flour
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1½ tablespoons butter
• Lime wedges for garnish

Directions:
In a medium bowl, combine the scallions, cilantro, ginger, lime zest, lime juice, and mayonnaise.

Stir in the crab meat and the Chex to combine. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 1 to 2 hours.

Using clean hands, roll the crab mix into 1-inch balls.

Set out three bowls. Put tapioca flour in one bowl, the beaten egg in the second, and the crushed Rice Chex in the last bowl.

For each crab ball, roll first in tapioca, then dip in beaten egg, then coat thoroughly with crushed Rice Chex, and transfer to a plate.

Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed sauté pan on medium high heat. Whisk in the butter.

Once the butter foams up and melts, place the Chex-coated crab balls into the pan and press down gently with a wooden spatula.

It is important to keep the oil hot, so do not crowd the pan. Cook the cakes in small batches as needed.

Cook each cake one to two minutes, until underside is golden brown, then gently turn the crab cakes over and cook until golden brown on the other side.

Transfer cooked cakes to a paper towel.

Serve with lime or lemon wedges and cocktail sauce or wasabi aioli:

Wasabi Aioli:

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons wasabi or prepared horseradish
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
• â…› teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• â…› teaspoon freshly ground ginger

Mix ingredients in a bowl and serve with crabcakes.