I saw them. I just never picked them up. They were right there next to the mushrooms. I think maybe I was distracted by the blue foot, hen of the woods, or the fresh chanterelles. I'm talking about sea beans. They are a funny-looking little vegetable that reminds me of coral in form. The flavor is intense; they taste like the sea. The briny, bright flavor is a great addition to the vegetarian cook's bag of tricks. Here I pair the seafood-like texture of king oyster mushrooms with the seafood-like flavor of the sea bean to create a delicious vegetarian version of a crab cake.
1 cup king oyster mushrooms (diced)
1/2 cup sea beans (diced)
1/4 cup fresh parsley (minced)
1/2 tsp Old Bay seasoning
1 1/2 tbsp mayo
1/4 green bell pepper (small dice)
1 egg (beaten)
3/4 cup bread (torn into small pieces)
1 1/2 cups panko or cracker crumbs
olive oil
pepper
Cook mushrooms in a frying pan over medium heat for a few minutes until tender then set aside to cool. Fold all of the ingredients except the panko together in a large mixing bowl. You want it to be light so don't over work it. Portion mixture with an ice cream scoop, roll in panko, and pat into a flat disk. Repeat. Set cakes on a tray and place in the freezer for 10-15 minutes. This will help them stay together as they cook. Fill a non-stick frying pan with about a 1/2 inch of oil and place over medium heat. Remove cakes from the freezer and pan fry in batches until golden. Squeeze the juice from 1/2 a lemon into a 1/4 cup of mayo, add pepper, and mix. Serve this on the side of the sea cakes.
7 comments:
This sounds absolutely amazing. I loooove crab cakes, so this is a must-try. I've always been curious about using sea beans, too. Thanks!
Where in town do you find sea beans?
i find them at whole foods, but I have not seen them this week. keep checking. they are right by the mushrooms.
Found the sea beans at Whole Foods today. Thanks for the tip!
These look fantastic! Crab cakes are one of the very few things I do miss from my pre-vegan days, I will have to try your recipe out very soon!
well... first, the positive: i made your lentil tacos twice already and they are DELISH. and i normally hate lentils.
but these pseudo-crab cakes... not so good. i don't get how the cake is supposed to hold together?? i followed the recipe to the letter, and it was just a bitsy mess. trying to save the situation, i threw everything in the food processor, which produced a consistency i could work with. but the taste seemed really bland.
i was pretty sad, since the looked and sounded so amazing. better luck to me next time!
vegantester, I hate that these didn't workout for you. Just wondering, did you try to make them vegan or did you follow the recipe?
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