Vegan "Crab" Cakes

                                                          Vegan "Crab" Cakes

I'm trying to make a dent in the 3 lb zucchini we got from the market so I added some into this recipe and WOW it was amazing. My daughter took pictures but her camera is having issues right now so I had to borrow this photo. Ours looked awesome too. These crab cakes use tempeh, which I normally am not a big fan of. I guess I wasn't using it right because these were so good. It freaked my husband out a little because the texture and taste was so similar to crab. Every one of my kids loved these.

One serving of tempeh contains more fiber than most people consume in one day. Fiber is essential for a healthy digestive tract as well as preventing many chronic diseases Rhizopus moulds produce natural, heat-stable antibiotic agents against some disease-causing organisms. Indonesians who eat tempeh as a regular part of their diet recognize it as a medicine for dysentery and rarely fall victim to the intestinal diseases to which they are constantly exposed. In addition, tempeh had calcium, protein and iron. BTW tempeh is made from soy beans. We get ours at Trader Joe's or Whole foods.

These are gluten-free (when using gf bread crumbs), vegan, nut-free, contains soy. We served these with some roasted garlic smashed potatoes and some lightly steamed southern greens.

SERVINGS

10 cakes

INGREDIENTS

For the Cakes:

1/4 cup shredded zucchini

8 ounces tempeh (use the nori tempeh if you can find it, but plain soy tempeh is fine, too)

1 cup water

1 tablespoon braggs, gf tamari or soy sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon old bay

1 bay leaf

3 tablespoons Vegenaise

1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard (stone-ground Dijon works, too)

1 tablespoon hot sauce

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1/4 cup very finely chopped red bell pepper

3/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon salt

Fresh black pepper

1 1/2 cups panko breadcrumbs or your favorite Gluten-free crumbs, plus extra for dredging

1 finely chopped nori sheet or 1 tablespoon kelp granules (optional, if you like a little fishiness, which I do)

Oil for panfrying

For the Remoulade:

2 tablespoons Vegenaise

1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard (stone-ground Dijon works, too)

1 tablespoon hot sauce

2 teaspoons capers (try not to get too much brine)

For Serving:

Lemon wedges

DIRECTIONS

Make ahead: Make the entire mixture and the remoulade the night before. In the morning, form into cakes and panfry.

First we’re going to steam the tempeh to get the bitterness out and also to give it some flavor with the soy sauce. Crumble the tempeh into a saucepan in little bits. Add the water, soy sauce, oil, and bay leaf. The tempeh won’t be fully submerged, but that’s fine. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, let boil for 12 to 15 minutes, until most of the water has evaporated. Stir once during boiling.

Transfer contents to a mixing bowl, remove the bay leaf, and mash with a fork. Let cool for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to hasten the cooling process. Make sure the tempeh is barely warm before you proceed, or the cakes may fall apart when you cook them. Add the zucchini, Vegenaise, mustard, hot sauce, vinegar, bell pepper, ginger, oregano, old bay, salt, and pepper and mix well. Add the breadcrumbs and nori, if using, and use your hands to incorporate.

Once you are ready to form the cakes, preheat a thin layer of oil in a heavy-bottomed, nonstick skillet (cast iron is great) over medium heat. Pour a few tablespoons of breadcrumbs into a bowl. Scoop a little less than 1/4 cup batter into your hands and form into a ball. Flatten between your palms and then roll the sides gently to smooth them. You should have ten 2 1/2- to 3-inch patties. Press them into the crumbs to lightly coat. They don’t need to be thoroughly covered, just a little bit for some texture.

Fry a batch of five cakes for 4 minutes on one side and flip when dark golden brown. Fry for 2 minutes on the other side and transfer to a paper towel or paper bag to drain. Do your second batch and in the meantime make your remoulade by mixing all the ingredients together in a bowl.

Serve with lemon wedges.

Adapted From the book Vegan Brunch by Isa Chandra Moskowitz.