Three Cake Appetizer : Dungeness Crab, Sea Scallop and Smoked Salmon
Serves 6

Inspiration

As winter winds mercilessly drive cold rain into the Northwest, all kinds of fresh, delicious seafood appears in the markets, brazenly seducing food lovers with bright colored flesh, silvery scales and promises of subtle briny tastes.
It’s a perfect time for crispy, quick fried crab cakes. Or how about three different cakes? A wonderful beginning to a wintry evening.

Hints

1. With rare exceptions, seafood has delicate, subtle flavors that will be overwhelmed by overcooking, over seasoning and over doing. If you want to taste seafood, minimize added flavors.
2. In this recipe an egg-based vinaigrette with flavor that only hints of vinegar and lemon binds the flesh together to hold the cake shape, just enough to complement but not overwhelm the seafood.
3. Lobster can be substituted for Dungeness crab; their textures are similar.
4. Hot-smoked salmon is smoked over wood so the flesh is cooked and firm. Because Lox style smoked salmon is cured raw it will produce a pasty consistency in a fried cake.
5. The scallop meat is not precooked or mixed; it is just painted with the vinaigrette and then rolled in crumbs and fried. Finished, it looks like the others so I called it a cake.
6. Shrimp doesn’t have a strong enough flavor to withstand the vinaigrette and crust.
7. Do not substitute commercial mayonnaise for the vinaigrette as it contains gelatin, vegetable oil, powdered egg and other things that won’t help.

This recipe looks long and a little complicated. Honestly, its most complicated aspect is writing it!

Ingredients

For Vinaigrette

1 large egg yolk
2 tsp. white wine vinegar
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
½ tsp. Chinese Chili paste or Tabasco
½ cup olive oil
2 tbs. minced fresh Italian parsley

For Crab Cakes

½ pint fresh Dungeness crab meat, pressed in strainer to remove excess juice

For Smoked Salmon Cakes

½ pint smoked salmon flesh, no skin or top crust

For Scallop Cakes

4 large sea scallops (may be previously frozen)
4 tsp. pureed ginger (tube or jar)

For Breading

5 cups mini Saltine crackers, processed into crumbs
3 tbs. minced fresh Italian parsley

For Frying

¼# unsalted butter cut into six slices
½ cup olive oil

For Sauce and Garnishes

Remaining vinaigrette plus 2 tbs. water

Crab: 2 tsp. Pico de Gallo or well drained, minced fresh tomato salsa

Smoked Salmon: 2 tsp. crème fraiche; 24 capers

Scallop: 6 pieces pickled sushi ginger, drained on a paper towel

1 bunch Daikon radish sprouts, baby arugula or other fresh baby greens

Procedure

1. Vinaigrette: Process or electrically blend egg yolk, vinegar, lemon juice, mustard and chili paste or Tabasco. With motor running, slowly add oil until vinaigrette thickens. Transfer to a bowl and stir in parsley with a fork.
2. Crab and smoked salmon cakes: Using a fork, gently mix first drained crab then smoked salmon, each with 2 tbs. vinaigrette.
3. Spread cracker crumbs in a shallow pan.  Set out 3 plates that can hold 7 cakes each and also fit into the refrigerator.

Another Hint: The cakes will look alike when they are made, so be sure to keep them separate until they are plated to serve.

4. Form crab and salmon mixtures into 7 each (14 total) small (2” x ¾”) cakes, roll them gently in the crumbs until they are amply covered, and put them on the plate.
5. Scallop cakes: Cut each scallop in half horizontally. Paint all sides of the discs with vinaigrette and spread ½ tsp. of pureed ginger on the top of each disc before covering all of them with cracker crumbs. Set them on the plate.
6. Cover the cakes with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one and up to eight hours.
7. Mix water by the teaspoonful with remaining vinaigrette to make it pourable. Cover and save until serving time.

Ten Minutes Before Serving: preheat oven to 225º

8. Set out 6 salad plates. Place sprouts or arugula in a wreath shape near the edge of each plate. Put a large plate in the oven. Take vinaigrette out of the refrigerator and test to be sure it will pour easily. If it doesn’t, add a little water or lemon juice.
9. Heat one pat of butter and 2 tbs. oil in non-stick skillet to medium low. When the fat bubbles add the crab cakes. Cook until golden brown, turn and cook the other side to golden brown. Transfer the cooked cakes to the plate in the oven and keep warm until all cakes are served. Wipe the pan clean with a paper towel before adding butter and oil for next batch. Cook the other two batches and put them in the oven.

To Serve

Place a crab cake, a salmon cake and a scallop cake in the center of the salad plate. Carefully place dabs of crème fraiche on the salmon cakes. Top each with 5 capers. Place a small dab of Pico de Gallo on each crab cake. Twist the pieces of pickled ginger once and place one on each scallop cake. Drizzle dabs of vinaigrette over the sprouts or arugula and serve immediately. The extras are a fall back for breakage. If they are left over, save them for a next day treat.