Crab Galette

The idea behind this dish is to create a crab cake that does not have all the non-essential fillers that most recipes contain. Also I tried not to overwhelm the sublime taste of crab with loads of spices, onions, peppers, etc… Here I use the pureed shrimp and scallops as the binder, and the outcome is a cake that is very delicate, flakey cake, that contains nothing but fresh seafood. You could use this recipe, minus the crabmeat, and add any thing you'd like, a different kind of crabmeat, lobster, bay scallops, mixed grilled seafood, the possibilities are endless.

Ingredients:

  • ¼ lb. Shrimp (peeled and cleaned)
  • ¼ lb. scallops (peeled and cleaned)
  • 1Tbl dry mustard1 egg yolk
  • ½ cup heavy cream
  • 3 bulbs of roasted garlic
  • 1 lb. Jumbo lump crab meat
  • Tabasco
  • Chopped chives and parsley
  • Salt and pepper

Sauce:

  • 3 Tbl Dijon
  • 1 Tbl pommery mustard
  • Fresh grated horseradish
  • Fine diced shallot
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • Salt and pepper

Preparing the Galette:
In a food processor, puree all the ingredients except the jumbo lump crabmeat and the fresh herbs Puree for approx. 5 min. Has to be mucho fino. (The Tabasco and salt and pepper are used as flavor enhancer, and should be added to your particular taste) I call this a seafood panard The panard should have a gel like consistency. Transfer the panard to a large mixing bowl, and with a rubber spatula gently fold the fresh herbs and crabmeat into the panard Make cakes to your desired size.

Cooking the Galette:
Pre-heat over to 350 degrees. Heat a non-stick skillet over low flame, and coat the bottom with a small amount of corn oil. Crabmeat is very delicate and will burn rather easily, so it is important to cook it very gently, over low heat. When skillet is heated, place the crab galette in the skillet, and sauté until light brown, (approx. 2 minutes) then, turn the cake and brown the other side. At this point the cake is half cooked. To finish you must take the galette and place it on a cookie sheet or other oven safe cooking device and bake it in the oven for 5 more minutes. The galette is now ready to be served.

Preparing the Sauce:
Wisk all ingredients together, and season with salt and pepper. You can serve the sauce hot or cold. I prefer it cold, it adds a nice contrast element to the hot crab galette.