By Mary Parks | 30 minutes

“Masinette” or green crab roe, is known for its intense and complex flavor profile and texture. For this recipe, we used sweet potato and caraway seeds to lend a little sweetness to the rich roe. The "crab cakes/ croquettes can be served as an appetizer, side, or main course. These cakes freeze well and can be stored for up to three months.

INGREDIENTS

Crab Cakes

• 1 cup baked sweet potato

• 1/3 cup roe, sautéd in sherry

• 1 shallot, minced

• 2 cloves of garlic, minced

• 3 sprigs of basil

• 3 sprigs of parsley

• ¼ tsp of caraway seed

• I tsp lemon zest

• 1 egg (avoid large)

• ½ cup unseasoned breadcrumbs 

• 1 tsp salt

• ~3 Tbsp olive oil 

Dill Cream

• 4 oz creme fraiche

• 2 Tbsp lemon juice

• 3 Tbsp fresh chopped dill

• 1 pinch sea salt

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 425° and prick sweet potatoes with a fork to release steam. Bake 1-3 sweet potatoes at for 45 minutes and let cool. Scrape baked potato into a bowl and mash. 

2. Simmer shallot and garlic on low heat until translucent, add roe and a splash of white wine. Remove from heat when the wine has reduced. 

3. Whisk an egg for 1 minute and slowly add roe, sweet potato, herbs, spices, lemon zest and breadcrumbs.

4. Combine mixture with hands to evenly blend.

5. The cake’s texture should resemble a very soft cookie dough. If needed, continue to slowly add breadcrumbs until you are able to form a loose 1 inch ball with the mixture.

6. Distribute 1 inch balls along a parchment lined baking sheet and gently press to form 2 inch diameter patties.

7. Gently coat cakes in a layer of eggs and another layer of breadcrumbs and chill in the fridge for 20 minutes. 

8. Heat skillet with ~1cm of oil on medium high heat. 

9. Cook cakes in small batches of no more than 3 cakes, turning every 1-2 minutes until each side is brown. 

10. While the cakes cool on a wrack, prepare the dill cream by mixing the sour cream, fresh lemon juice and a pinch of sea salt. 

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