Crab Cakes and Baby Greens with Citrus Vinaigrette and Spicy Aioli

 from "American Brasserie"
Rick Tramonto and Gale Gand with Julia Moskin
SERVES 6 AS AN APPETIZER, 4 AS AN ENTREE
We never gave the proper deep thought to crab cakes unti1 a memorable mea1 at Joe's Stone Crab House in Miami snapped us to attention. French restaurants treat quenelles of crab as a rare delicacy, so we knew that hearty, spicy American crab cakes had to be on our brasserie menu. Since our brasserie is in Chicago, miles from the nearest crab, we always use 1ump crabmeat for this dish, and you can too—as 1ong as you buy it fresh from a lusy fish store. To make this dish even more irresistible, top each crab cake with a swir1 of spicy garlic mayonnaise.

This simply perfect dish with subtle Creole seasoning makes an elegant opening to almost any meal- or a terrific summer dinner with some gri11ed bread and a juicy tomato-basi1 salad alongside the greens. If you ve never made your own breadcrumbs, here's your chance. Just collect all the bits and pieces of stale bread you have in the house, put them in the food processor, and pulse into fine crumbs. The results will be much tastier and 1ess salty than store-bought. If you can find panko, Japanese breadcrumbs, the texture will be even better.

For the citrus vinaigrette:

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper ~

For the crab cakes:

1 pound lump crabmeat
1 large egg
1 large egg white
2 teaspoons flnely chopped fresh parsley, or a combinatlon of parsley and chives
2 teaspoons flnely chopped fresh cilantro
1 small red bell pepper, seeded and finely diced
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/3 cup Mayonnalse, homemade (page 299) or store-bought
2/3 cup plain breadcrumbs
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

To finish the dish:

6 cups mixed salad greens (mesclun) or a mixture of at least 3 lettuces such as red leaf, romalne, endive, radicchlo, arugula, frlsee, watercress, and Boston
2 plum tomatoes, quartered lengthwlse into wedges
1 tablespoon 1ight olive oll
1 recipe Spicy Aloli (page 300)
 1) Make the dressing in a bowl, whisk all the dressing ingredients together and set aside.

2) Make the crab cakes: lightly squeeze any liquid out of the crabmeat and pick over to remove any bits of cartilage. Put the crabmeat in a bowl. Add the egg, egg white, parsley, cilantro, bell pepper, lemon juice, cayenne, and cumin and mix thoroughly.

Add the mayonnaise, breadcrumLs, and salt and pepper to taste and mix just until moistened and well combined.

3) Divide the mixture into 12 cakes about 1 inch thick and 21/2 inches across. Spread out on a baking sheet and set aside until ready to use. The recipe can be prepared to this point up to 8 hours ahead and reirigerated.

4) When ready to serve, toss the greens and tomatoes with the citrus vinaigrette and divide among the serving plates.

5) Heat the oi! in a sLillet over me~ium-high heat. Working in batches to avoid crowding the pan, saute the crat cates just until golden brown, about 3 minutes on each side.

6) Serve warm on the plates with greens and tomatoes. Spoon a littIe aioli on each crab cabe, or pass it separately at the table.