Have you ever had Cajun food?  Not blackened fish from a restaurant that claims you're getting Cajun food, but authentic Cajun food. If you haven't then Real Cajun by Donald Link is a great place to learn what Cajun food is really about.

Donald Link was raised in the heart of Cajun country (Acadia Parish in Louisiana).  He grew up on Cajun food, explored his passion for food by becoming a chef and then returned to Louisiana to focus on Cajun food. 

Not surprisingly, in Real Cajun Link shares recipes for gumbo and jambalaya as well as recipes that make use of Louisiana's bounty of crawfish, crab (see recipe below) and shrimp.  Rice and pork also take center stage in much of Cajun recipes. But, you may be surprised to also find a lot of sausage and other foods that may at first glance appear German.  That's because many of the people who settled in Cajun country were German.  Explore these recipes more and you'll see how the German influence morphed into Cajun food. 

Crab Cakes with Jalapeño Remoulade

amazon.com

Serves 4

I have a list of things that I almost never order in a restaurant, and crab cakes head the list. Too often they are made with low-quality crab meat and taste more like wet bread than crab. For those craving the real deal, look no further: This recipe creates entirely different crab cakes. They are both rich and zippy, thanks to the chile, scallions, mustard, and dashes of hot sauce and lemon juice. The Jalapeño Remoulade truly sends them over the edge.

The most important thing to remember when making crab cakes is to not overwork the mixture. The cakes should be loose, just barely holding together. Chilling them before they are cooked helps firm up them and hold together without too much binder (bread crumbs).

Dungeness and Peeky Toe crab can be used in this recipe, but my favorite is blue crab from the Gulf. I have actually gone to the trouble of cooking live crabs and picking them myself, but trust me-if you can buy good lump crab, that's the easier way to go. Even for a pretty accomplished crab picker like me, it takes a while to get enough for these cakes-maybe because I always eat half of it before it ever gets into the bowl.

• 1 pound best-quality lump crab meat (not pasteurized)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• ½ small onion, finely chopped
• ½ poblano chile, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon pure chile powder (like ancho, New Mexico, or chipotle)
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne
• 1 egg, lightly beaten        
• ¼ cup mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon Creole (or whole-grain) mustard
• Several dashes of Louisiana hot sauce
• 1 scallion (white and green parts), finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
• Juice of ½ lemon
• ¾ cup fresh bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more as needed
• Jalapeño Remoulade (recipe follows)

Place the crab meat in a large mixing bowl and carefully pick through for shells, then set aside.
Melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, poblano, garlic, salt, chile powder, black pepper, and cayenne and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are softened but not brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer the vegetable mixture to a mixing bowl and set aside to cool for about 15 minutes.

Add the crab, the egg, mayonnaise, mustard, hot sauce, scallion, parsley, lemon juice, and ¼ cup of the bread crumbs to the vegetable mixture. Using your hands, gently combine the ingredients.

Using a 1-cup measuring cup, form the mixture into cakes, packing gently; they should look like hockey pucks, about 2 inches thick with straight sides. Cover the cakes and chill for 20 to 30 minutes, or overnight.

When you are ready to cook the crab cakes, place the remaining ½ cup bread crumbs in a pie tin. Dredge both sides of each cake in the crumbs, shaking off the excess. Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot but not smoking, fry the crab cakes for 4 to 5 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Do not overcrowd the pan-fry in batches if necessary, adding more oil if needed. Serve immediately, with Jalapeño Remoulade.

Jalapeño Remoulade

From Real Cajun by Donald Link and Paula Disbrowe (Clarkson Potter, 2009)

Makes about 1 ¼ cups

For the best results, make this spicy condiment a few hours in advance and then cover and refrigerate, so the flavors have time to develop.

• 1 small jalapeño pepper, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped
• 1 bunch scallions (white parts only), thinly sliced
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
• Juice of 1 lime
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