These fully plant-based soy curl 'crab' cakes are perfect in every way! With a just-right flakey texture and subtle ocean flavor, you and your family will keep coming back for more!
½tspsea salt(or salt-free seasoning of your choice)
Optional garnishes
2Tbspfresh chives or parsley, minced
1lemon, sliced in wedges(squeeze a bit of lemon juice on the patties if desired)
Instructions
Prepare the flax egg
Combine the ground flax and water in a small bowl. Stir or whisk well. Set aside for at least 10 minutes.
Prepare the soy curls
Add the soy curls, vegetable broth, and water to a large bowl. Stir well and allow to soak for 10 minutes. Combine your veggie spices while the soy curls are soaking. When finished soaking, drain the soy curls well using a colander. Next, add the drained soy curls to a food processor and pulse until coarsely ground (5-second increments for about 15 seconds total). Then, place the drained and coarsely ground soy curls back into the large bowl.
Combine your veggie spices
Add the veggie spice ingredients to a small bowl. Stir well and set aside.
Prepare the vegetables
Add the roughly chopped onions, carrot, and celery to your food processor and briefly pulse until just finely ground (two to three 5-second increments, about 10-15 seconds total).Do not over-process or they will become too liquified.
Saute your vegetables & add your veggie spice mixture
Add the food processed vegetables to a preheated large nonstick saute pan and begin to saute over medium heat. Keep the pan uncovered and stir occasionally. Sprinkle the veggie spices over the sauteeing vegetables. Cook the vegetables until the onions begin to become translucent. About 10 minutes.
Add the ground soy curls to the veggies in the pan
Next, add the soaked, drained, and coarsely ground soy curls to the vegetable pan. Stir well to combine then cook and stir occasionally for 5-10 minutes more. Cook until heated through. If there is any excess liquid, most should be cooked off by this point. Then, remove from heat and allow the sauteed vegetable & soy curl mixture to cool for about 5 minutes.
Prepare your burger mixture
While the veggies & soy curls are cooling, whisk the flax egg and the ¼ cup oil-free plant-based mayonnaise together. Add this and the sauteed veggies & soy curls to the large bowl. Stir together really well so that it's thoroughly combined. Then, scoop into a sealed container. Refrigerate this burger mixture for at least an hour. This will help the flavors continue to meld and will help make the mixture easier to form into patties later.
Prepare your 'crab' cake sauce
While the burger mixture is chilling, stir or whisk your 'crab' cake sauce ingredients together in a bowl or other container. Place in the refrigerator to cool until it's time to serve your burgers.
Prepare your breading
Combine the breading ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir or whisk well and set aside.
Form, coat, and bake the crab cakes
When you're ready to bake the burgers, remove the burger mixture from the refrigerator and prepare a parchment-lined baking pan.
Preheat your oven to 375° F.
Next, by scooping out a packed ⅓ cup of the burger mixture at a time, form and squeeze the burger mixture into patties with your hands. As each patty is formed into a nice circular patty, hold it above the breading bowl in one hand while using your other hand to cover the exposed side with the breading. Then, gently flip the patty into your other hand and coat the other side as well.
After coating with the breading mixture, place each patty on your parchment-lined baking pan and complete final reshaping if needed. The recipe makes approximately 12 patties.
Bake the coated 'crab' cakes for 20-25 minutes or until they begin to become just lightly browned (see pictures in recipe post). Remove the baking pan from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Then, carefully remove the 'crab' cakes from the baking pan and place on your serving plate(s). Serve warm with a small dollop of your chilled 'crab' cake sauce on top of each burger or on the side.
Garnish (optional)
Top with minced fresh chives. Also serve with lemon wedges. Squeezing a small amount of lemon juice over each burger can help to enhance the flavors even more.
Notes
*These plant-based crab cakes freeze very well. Freeze in a single layer & when ready to enjoy, simply microwave. It takes about 1.5-2 minutes to warm a single patty from frozen.