Lavender Crab Cakes

I’m experiencing the lure of lavender

 with The Novel Bakers this week.

I’ve been picnicking and loading my wheelbarrow with salt,

 sipping on Lavender Margaritas!

The recipe for these wonderful crab cakes are

 from Sharon Shipley’s The Lavender Cookbook.

The lavender flavor in these crab cakes is subtle~ 2 teaspoons ground dried culinary French lavender per pound of crabmeat. My husband, who was skeptical of the addition of lavender to the crab cakes, loved them!

I made half a recipe using half a pound of crabmeat to make appetizer size crab cakes. Half a pound of crab gave me 7 mini cakes (one not pictured, for the cook :) measured out in 1 1/2 ounce ice cream scoop. They’re then rolled in a Panko bread crumb coating, that I added some grated Parmesan to, as in Parmesan-Crusted Crab Cake Bites.

They’re served with Honey Lavender Sauce. I was more skeptical of the sauce than the crab cakes themselves, but the naturally sweet fresh crabmeat has a touch of ocean saltiness that is enhanced by the sweet honey and subtle flavor of lavender!

Lavender Crab Cakes,

recipe from The Lavender Cookbook

I made half a recipe for 1 1/2 ounce size mini crab cakes, giving me 7 appetizer servings. You could end up with anywhere from 4 to 14, depending on the size of your crab cakes with this recipe.

Ingredients

1/4 cup minced celery

1/4 cup green onion (I used shallot)

1/4 cup mayonaise

1 large egg

1 tablespoon dry mustard (I used Dijon mustard)

2 teaspoons dried French lavender buds, finely ground in a spice grinder

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

pinch of cayenne pepper

1 pound fresh crabmeat

2 3/4 cups panko bread crumbs

grated Parmesan (my addition)

Creamy Honey Lavender Sauce (recipe follows)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

lemon wedges (garnish)

chopped fresh Italian parsley (garnish)

In a medium bowl, mix the celery, green onion (shallot for me), mayonnaise, egg, mustard, lavender, salt, and cayenne. Pick through the crabmeat to remove any pieces of shell or cartilage. Stir the crab into the bowl. Mix in enough panko (about 1 cup) to form a mixture that barely holds together. (I ended up adding a little more mayo to hold it together. ) Place the remaining panko into a shallow bowl.

Shape the crab mixture into patties for dinner size or appetizer portions. (I used a 1 1/2 ounce ice cream scoop to measure out appetizer portions.) Press into the panko mixture to coat on all sides. (I added about 1/8 of a cup of grated Parmesan into the remaining panko.) Place on a plate, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Prepare the honey sauce, cover and refrigerate until needed.

Combine 1 tablespoon of the butter and 1 tablespoon of the oil in  a large skillet and place over medium-high heat until the butter melts. Add 4 crab cakes at a time, (so as not to over crowd pan) reduce the heat to medium, and cook for 4 minutes per side, or until browned. Wipe the skillet clean with paper towels. Repeat using the remaining butter, oil, and crab cakes. Transfer to a plate and garnish with lemon wedges, parsley and Honey Lavender Sauce.

Creamy Honey Lavender Sauce

1 cup mayonnaise

1/4 sour cream

1/4 cup honey

2 tablespoons cilantro leaves, chopped

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon dried culinary French lavender buds, finely ground in spice grinder

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, honey, cilantro, lemon juice, mustard, and lavender. Season with salt & pepper.

You can find a printable recipe here.

 I found culinary French lavender from Amazon here. I have plenty to use for a long while since you generally need 1 teaspoon to 2 tablespoons per recipe. . .

 I’m sweetening the ‘crab pot’ and sharing my surplus of lavender~  adding jars of dried culinary French lavender and fragrant bags of French lavender buds (not culinary) to include in my Blue Crab Bay Giveaway!

10 winners will win 10 assortments of Blue Crab Bay products, along with a bag or jar of French lavender!

The winners will be chosen July 28th.

To enter this giveaway,

leave a comment on my post HERE.

I’m joining The Novel Bakers

for Lavender Week, July 22nd – July 28th!

 a quiet life

Rattlebridge Farm 

 Once Upon a Plate

Visit Jain, Michael Lee and Mari

for more delicious and fragrant fun!

Also sharing at:

 Metamorphosis Monday, The Scoop,

Inspire Me Tuesday, Wow Us Wednesdays,

 Tablescape Thursday, Foodie Friday