Crab Cakes with Lemon-Dill Sauce

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

Lemon Dill Sauce:
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced

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.

Yield: 4 servings
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Inactive prep time: 2 hours
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Ease of preparation: easy

Recipe courtesy Paula Deen