Summer Corn and Crab Cakes with Heirloom Tomato Relish

You’ll love this summer-filled spin on the classic crab cake, mixed with the golden-sweet goodness of fresh Southern corn. Crab is a treat—best when prepared simply and allowed to shine on its own. Here, we highlight its delicate sweetness with juicy corn and fresh herbs.

Crab cakes can easily dry out and fall apart in a sauté pan. Our solution? Roast them instead of frying. You’ll also cut out a great deal of oil (and mess) and keep the cakes extra tender and moist on the inside. A quick hit under the broiler gives them an extra crisp outer layer.

The best trick? Refrigerating them ahead of time not only allows the cakes to firm up and the flavors to meld but also makes these medallions a make-ahead option for any night of the week.

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS
1 cup fresh corn kernels
2 tablespoons minced fresh chives
2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil
2 tablespoons olive oil
or avocado mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
3/4 cup whole wheat panko, lightly toasted
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pound jumbo lump crab meat, picked free of shells
Fresh lemon wedges for serving

DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, combine first 11 ingredients (corn through pepper) in a large bowl, stirring well to combine. Fold in crab, careful not to overmix.

Using a ½ cup measure, gently shape mixture into 8 cakes. Place cakes evenly spaced onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Cover cakes and chill mixture in refrigerator at least 1 hour (alternately you can refrigerate the mixture in a bowl overnight and separate into cakes just before baking).

Preheat oven to 425°. Bake 22 minutes. Remove from oven.

Preheat broiler to high. Broil cakes 1-2 minutes or until tops are lightly browned and crisp.

Serve with Heirloom Tomato Relish and lemon wedges.

FISH TIP: Roasting on a sheet pan helps cook fish more gently and evenly than pan searing and frying. It also helps avoid giant fall-aparts that often come when it’s time to turn a flaky fish or crab cake in a sauté pan.

Heirloom Tomato Relish

In a small bowl, combine one thinly sliced shallot, 1/4 teaspoon salt, one teaspoon sugar and 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar. Top with 1/4 cup boiling water.
Let shallot stand 15 minutes. In a medium bowl, combine shallots, 1/2 cup fresh corn kernels, one cup halved cherry heirloom tomatoes, 1/4 cup thinly sliced basil, one tablespoon olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.

Toss to combine.

Serve over crab cakes.

Sidney Fry is a two-time James-Beard-Award-winning food and nutrition writer who loves creating simple, healthy recipes and thoughtful, actionable content for the hungry consumer. A healthy living proactivist, Sidney is also a registered dietitian nutritionist, recipe developer and mama of three based in Birmingham, Alabama.