Phil's International Flair

Philip R. Gantt

Welcome to Seasoned Cooking and to Phil's International Flair!

Here is a new kind of crab cake recipe that I created the other night. Here's how I came up with the idea: I happened to have a few baked potatoes left over from the previous evenings dinner, and I had been thinking about potato latkes and the crab cake recipe my cousin Leo sent me. So, I thought why not combine these two concepts into a single dish using leftover potatoes? The results were delicious. Kids and company alike thought that they were excellent. Try this dish as a main course or as an appetizer when guests are in attendance.

Now, on to the recipe! Be well, and good eating!

Potato, Crab and Shrimp Cakes

This is a rather unique dish and a good way to use leftover baked potatoes. You might try this with leftover mashed potatoes as well. My son suggested I make these for breakfast he liked them so well.
  • Leftover baked or mashed potatoes (about 2 cups)
  • 2 cans crab meat, drained
  • 1 cup small cooked shrimp or cocktail shrimp
  • 1 green onion, finely diced
  • 2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 Tbsp. butter, room temperature
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tsp. Tabasco sauce
  • 2 Tbsp. olive oil plus 2 Tbsp. butter for frying
  • Sour cream

If you are using baked potatoes, scoop the potato out of the peel using a spoon and put into a bowl. Discard the peels. If you are using leftover mashed potatoes, simply put 2 cups into a bowl. Next, add the crab, shrimp, lemon juice, diced green onion, chopped parsley, eggs, butter, Tabasco, salt and pepper. Mix well with a fork, being sure to crush any potato clumps. The mixture should be rather stiff and not pasty or wet.

In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter with the olive oil until sizzling. Drop 2 or 3 large spoonfuls of the potato mixture into the skillet and fry for about 5 minutes per side or until golden brown, pressing down slightly to form a thick patty. When browned on both sides, remove from skillet and place on a serving dish. Fry the remainder of the mixture in the same way.

When all of the cakes have been fried, serve with a generous portion of sour cream or applesauce as a dip and enjoy. The quantity above should make about 8 to 10 cakes. Allow 2 per person.

Hint: You may also add lemon zest to the mixture to perk it up a bit more, or add about one teaspoon hot pepper flakes if you like things on the spicy side.

  • Yields: 4 servings
  • Preparation Time: 25 minutes