Crabless Cakes with Hearts of Palm & Corn

Dang, these were good! I mean, DANG! I'm all about taking vegetarianism to the next (TASTY) level and these little beauties completely delivered! The hearts of palm even looked like flakes of crab meat! We ate these yummies for dinner tonight and I felt very fancy eating them in my pjs. I think they would wow guests and even make a great appetizer (just make smaller, bite-sized "patties").

I made these cakes about two hours ahead of sauteing them. I also served them with a side of a little mayo mixed with horseradish mustard....that sauce was total icing on the crabless cake! 

This recipes comes straight from the latest issue of Food & Wine magazine.

 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for frying

2 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels (cut from 4 ears of corn) <I used 3 ears of corn>
1/4 cup minced onion
1/4 cup minced green bell pepper <I used an entire red bell pepper>
One 15-ounce can whole hearts of palm—drained, thinly sliced lengthwise and cut crosswise into 3/4-inch lengths
2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup vegan mayonnaise <I used Organic Spectrum Mayo>

 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons plain dry bread crumbs, plus more for coating
Salt
Freshly ground pepper

 

In a nonstick skillet, heat the 1 tablespoon of oil. Add the corn, onion and bell pepper and cook over high heat until crisp-tender, 4 minutes. Scrape 1 cup of the mixture into a food processor and pulse to a coarse puree. 

 

In a bowl, squeeze the hearts of palm to break them into shards. Add the puree and the remaining sautéed vegetables to the bowl, along with the Old Bay, parsley, mayonnaise, mustard and the 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of bread crumbs. Season lightly with salt and pepper and stir until evenly moistened. 

 

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and fill a pie plate with bread crumbs. Scoop scant 1/4-cup mounds of the hearts of palm mixture into the bread crumbs and roll to coat. Form the mounds into eighteen 2-inch cakes and transfer to the baking sheet. 

Wipe out the nonstick skillet, then add a scant 1/8 inch of oil. Fry half of the cakes over moderate heat, turning once, until crispy, 2 minutes per side. Wipe out the skillet and add clean oil before frying the remaining cakes. Serve the cakes hot. 

 

Make Ahead The formed, uncooked cakes can be covered and refrigerated overnight. Serve With Green salad. <I also made a little side sauce of mayo and horseradish mustard - this was an excellent addition>