Crabless Cakes with Thousand Island Dip

Crabless Cakes with Thousand Island Dip

Makes: 12 (2 ¼-in /5.7-cm) cakes
Active time: 1 hour 15 minutes (excludes overnight chickpea soaking, cooking, and cakes chilling)

Directions

Vegan Mayonnaise

1. Make the mayonnaise (enough for crabless cakes, dip, and a bit extra for other uses): Combine the oils in a small pitcher to allow for easy pouring.
2. Place aquafaba, salt, and lemon juice in a tall blender cup, and blend with an immersion blender at high speed until combined and starting to froth. While still blending, pour in the combined oils very, very slowly, blending until emulsified, thick, and creamy. If emulsification does not happen, your vegan mayonnaise is not lost.
3. Scrape it into a bowl, and wash and dry the blender cup and the immersion blender attachment. Place 3 more Tablespoons aquafaba in the cup, blend until starting to froth, then very, very, VERY slowly add the reserved mixture. It should now emulsify and become thick and creamy. Use ½ cup for the cakes and reserve 1 cup for the dip.

Seasoning

1. Mix all spices together.

Crabless Cakes

1. Prepare the chickpeas: Soak chickpeas overnight in cold water with baking soda. (Baking soda makes beans soft and creamy and shortens the cooking time.) Discard the soaking water and rinse three times to avoid baking soda taste.
2. Add to pot and cover chickpeas with water three times their volume. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until tender, 1 to 1 ½ Strain. (You can reserve the bean water for soups, broth, etc.)
3. Continue with Crabless Cake mix: Preheat broiler to medium with a rack 4 in (10 cm) from the heat source. Cut bell pepper in half from top to bottom and remove seeds. Place, cut sides down, on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Broil until the skin darkens and separates from the flesh, about 15 minutes. If the skin starts to burn but flesh is still uncooked, position tray one level lower and continue to broil until flesh is soft. Place in an airtight glass container for 10 minutes (this facilitates peeling).
4. Place chickpeas, jackfruit, hearts of palm, and corn in a food processor, and pulse to obtain a coarse but homogeneous mix.
5. Transfer to a bowl.
6. Peel the roasted pepper, then chop into %-in (0.7-cm) dice and add to the bowl along with the green onions, parsley, and garlic.
7. Add 2 ½ teaspoons Crabless Cake Seasoning (reserve the rest for other purposes), the salt, mayonnaise, mustard, vegan Worcestershire, and ½ cup of the breadcrumbs; combine well.
8. Use a 2 ¼-in (5.7-cm) ice cream scoop to form mixture into 12 balls; flatten each into a patty. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or, for best results, several hours. Coat them with the remaining ½ cup breadcrumbs.
9. Heat avocado oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat, and fry cakes on both sides until brown and crispy, about 4 minutes on the first side and a bit less on the second side. Drain on paper towels.
10. Serve immediately with Thousand Island Dip.

Thousand Island Dip 

1. Combine the first six ingredients, stirring until smooth, then fold into the mayonnaise.
2. Refrigerate until serving.

Elvira Rodríguez is a seasoned  with 35 years as a vegetarian/vegan chef in three countries,  Elvira shares delicious and nutritious plant-based gourmet recipes that appeal to vegans and non-vegans alike. Learn more and purchase the book at www.irresistiblyvegan.com.