Revamping Paula Deen crab cakes
- 1 pound crab meat, picked free of shells
- 1/3 cup crushed whole-wheat crackers
- 3 green onions (white and part of green), finely chopped
- 1/2 cup finely chopped bell pepper (red, yellow, orange or green)
- 2 tablespoons light mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons fat-free sour cream
- 1/4 cup egg substitute
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- Juice from 1/2 lemon
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
- Dash cayenne pepper
- 1/2 cup unbleached white flour
- 5 teaspoons canola or olive oil
- Favorite dipping sauce for serving (optional)
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Q. I found a Paula Deen recipe for crab cakes and I would like to try them but I don't want to make them as rich as the original recipe. I have loved what you have done with Paula's recipes before; will you take this one on?
A. Crab cakes are one of my favorite foods! I've lightened a few over the years but it would be my honor to tackle Paula's crab cakes. Instead of Ritz crackers, I used whole-wheat crackers but you could use reduced-fat Ritz. Instead of regular mayonnaise, I used 2 tablespoons light mayonnaise and 2 tablespoons fat-free sour cream. I used egg substitute instead of an egg and made salt optional. The original recipe calls for a teaspoon, which will add 472 mg per serving just for the salt. And instead of pan-frying the cakes in 1/2 cup of peanut oil, I used 1/2 teaspoon olive or canola oil per cake for a total of 5 teaspoons of oil.
With these changes, the still-yummy crab cakes have almost half the calories and cholesterol and two-thirds less total fat and saturated fat. Now, if I can only cut the price of crab in half, these would be perfect!
Original recipe contains (if the crab cakes absorb 1/3 cup of the oil) 375 calories, 27 grams fat, 4.4 grams saturated fat, and 115 mg cholesterol per serving.
CRAB CAKE REMAKE
In large mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients, except for the flour and oil and dipping sauce. Shape the mixture into 10 patties.
Lightly coat both sides of each crab cake with flour and set aside.
Begin heating a large, nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. When pan is hot, add 1/2 teaspoon of oil in one area of skillet and add a crab cake on top of the oil. Repeat with remaining oil and crab cakes. Coat tops of cakes with canola or olive oil cooking spray. When undersides of crab cakes are browned (about 4 minutes), flip crab cakes over and brown the other side (about 4 minutes more).
Serve warm with desired sauce.
Makes 5 servings of 2 crab cakes each.
• Per serving (2 crab cakes): 215 calories, 23 g protein, 10 g carbohydrate, 8.8 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 4 g monounsaturated fat, 3.2 g polyunsaturated fat, 71 mg cholesterol, 2 g fiber, 443 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 37 percent. Omega-3 fatty acids = 1 g, Omega-6 fatty acids = 2.2 g, Weight Watchers POINTS = 5
