Crab Cakes with Cilantro Butter

-----CRAB CAKES----- 1/2 c Olive oil

1/2 Red pepper,finely diced

1/2 Green pepper, finely diced

1 lb Best-quality lump crab meat

2 lg Eggs, beaten

1 1/2 c Coarse ground homemade

-bread crumbs Salt, freshly ground pepper -----CILANTRO BUTTER SAUCE----- 1 c Dry white wine

1 Shallot, minced

1 c Whipping cream

8 oz Unsalted butter, softened

1/2 c Chopped fresh cilantro

-----GARNISH----- Chopped tomato Cilantro sprigs

1. Heat 1/4 cup of the oil in a large skillet; cook red and green peppers

in the oil until tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from skillet with a slotted spoon. Cool. 2. Mix crab meat, eggs, cooked peppers and 2 tablespoons of the bread

crumbs in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Using wet hands, shape crab mixture into 8 equal-size cakes. Place on a wax paper-lined plate and chill up to several hours. 3. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Coat crab cakes in bread crumbs on all sides.

Heat remaining 1/4 cup oil in a large, ovenproof skillet. Add crab cakes in a single layer. Cook until nicely browned on bottom, about 2 minutes. Carefully turn cakes over and then place in oven. Bake until golden on all sides, 10 to 12 minutes. 4. Meanwhile, for sauce, boil wine with shallot in a medium non-reactive

saucepan until reduced to 1/3 cup. Stir in cream and boil until reduced by about half. Working over very low heat, whisk in the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, until sauce is light and thick. Do not allow sauce to boil at any time or it will separate. Strain sauce through a fine wire mesh strainer into a warm bowl. Stir in cilantro, salt and pepper. Keep warm by covering tightly with plastic wrap and then placing bowl in a pan of warm water. 5. To serve, pour a few tablespoons of the sauce onto a warm serving plate.

Top with a crab cake. Garnish with chopped tomato and cilantro sprig. Serve immediately. Posted By [email protected] (Rebecca Radnor) On rec.food.recipes or rec.food.cooking