Hummus Crab Cakes

Hummus Crab Cakes served with Fresh Avocado

While vacationing in Ocean City Maryland this summer, we came across Rippons Seafood, a local institution for fresh steamed crabs by the dozen, fresh seafood and specialties like crab deviled eggs. They sold crab cakes at $8 each and I thought to myself...how hard could this be to make this at our rental? So we bought a pint of fresh lump crab instead and proceeded to make these lower fat but just as tasty version of the Maryland classic. Since I didn't want to buy a large jar of mayonnaise for the little amount we would need for the recipe, I decided to substitute with hummus as the binder. Hummus is super viscose, so we didn't need the egg either! Alas, the hummus crab cake was born.

Amazingly, they were such a hit with the family that I ended up buying 2 more pints and transporting them to Long Island for a 2nd round of homemade hummus crab cakes!

1 Pint Fresh Lump Crab (Fresh, local and wild caught if you can get it for best texture/flavor) 
1/2 pint of Hummus (Either pre-packaged or homemade)
1 whole shallot finely chopped
1 cup of fresh parsley finely chopped
1/4 cup of ground flax seed
Juice of 1 fresh lime
1/2 Teaspoon of Paprika
1/2 Teaspoon of Garlic Powder
1/4 Teaspoon Fresh ground pepper
1/2 Teaspoon of Sriracha
1/2 Teaspoon of Dijon Mustard
4 pieces of Whole Wheat Bread - Toasted and coarsely grated/chopped into coarse crumbs

Bonus! Southeast Asian Version: (Add the following to above ingredients)
1/2 Shredded Unsweetened Coconut
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro or thai basil.

Mix all ingredients except crab until well mixed
Add lump crab until well mixed and form crab cakes into palm sized circles and flatten slightly.
Spray non-stick frying pan with sunflower oil (or 1 teaspoon if no sprayer)
Fry at medium low for about 3-4 minutes each side until golden brown.

Serve with lemon slices and fresh avocado.