- 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