Crawfish Cakes with Wild Ramps, Mache Salad and Orange Chili Vinaigrette

Serves 10
Time 1 hr 40 min

Chef Susan Goss, owner of Chicago's West Town Tavern, and Chef Karen Armijo, renowned author and chef of Chicago's Gary Comer Youth Center adapted this recipe from one that appears in Galatoire's Cookbook: Recipes and Family History from the Time-Honored New Orleans Restaurant.

Ingredients

    For the Orange Chili Vinaigrette
    1 cuporange juice
    1small shallot, chopped
    2 tablespoonslemon juice
    1 teaspoonDijon mustard
    1 teaspoonchili powder (hot or mild, whichever you prefer)
    1 tablespoonred wine vinegar
    1/2 cupextra-virgin olive oil
    1/4 teaspoonfine sea salt
    For the Béchamel (white sauce)
    1 cup(2 sticks) unsalted butter
    1/2 cupflour
    1/2 teaspoonfine sea salt
    2 cupsreduced-fat (2%) milk
    For the Crawfish Cakes
    4 tablespoons(1/2 stick) unsalted butter
    1/2 cupyellow or red bell pepper, minced
    1/4 cupwild ramps, chopped (or 1 bunch green onions)
    1 clovegarlic, minced
    1 poundcrawfish tails, thawed and peeled (available in frozen seafood section)
    2 largeegg yolks, whisked
    2 cupsdry bread crumbs, divided
    1/4 teaspoonfine sea salt
    10 cupsmache or mixed greens
    8raw asparagus spears, shaved using a vegetable peeler
    Ground black pepper, to taste
    1/8 teaspoonground black pepper

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Method

For the vinaigrette, reduce orange juice in a saucepan over medium heat until it become thick and syrupy, about 10 minutes.


Allow to cool.


Combine reduced orange juice with onion, lemon juice, mustard, chili powder and vinegar in a blender, pulsing until combined.


With the blender running, slowly add olive oil until dressing is thickened.


Add salt and pepper to taste.


Refrigerate in a glass jar or squeeze bottle until ready to use.


Bring to room temperature before serving.


For the béchamel, melt butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat.


Whisk in flour and salt until combined.


Slowly add the milk, whisking constantly to eliminate any lumps.


Cook for 10 minutes until thickened, stirring frequently to avoid scorching. Set aside to cool.


For the crawfish cakes, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a saucepan over medium heat.


Add bell peppers, ramps and garlic.


Cook 2 to 3 minutes until soft.


Add crawfish and cook 2 to 3 minutes, until heated through.


Season with salt and pepper.


Fold in béchamel and bring mixture to a simmer, cooking 4 to 5 minutes.


Stir in egg yolks and 1 cup of the bread crumbs.


Refrigerate mixture 30 minutes to an hour until cool and thickened.


Form into 10 large cakes or 20 small cakes (the batter will be sticky).


Sprinkle tops of crawfish cakes with remaining 1 cup of breadcrumbs.


Heat a skillet over medium heat.


Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter.


Sear cakes, 3 to 4 minutes per side, until golden and crisp, adding more butter as needed.


Drain on paper towel-lined plate.


Toss together mache with asparagus and divide among serving plates.


Top salad with crawfish cakes and drizzle with vinaigrette.

Nutritional Info

Serving Size

Calories

460

Total Fat

37g

Saturated Fat

17g

Cholesterol

150mg

Sodium

500mg

Total Carbohydrate

22g

Dietary Fiber

2g

Total Sugars

6g

Protein

13g

Note: We've provided special diet and nutritional information for educational purposes. But remember - we're cooks, not doctors! You should follow the advice of your health-care provider. And since product formulations change, check product labels for the most recent ingredient information. See our Terms of Service.