Mango salsa ranks as one of my top favorite foods. I could eat it on anything, or just off a spoon. And it’s unbelievably simple to make at home (cue the 1 step recipe below).
The hardest part is cutting the mangos, but you could try pre-cut frozen mango to avoid the hassle. Once this is in your repertoire, you’ll be dipping tortilla chips in it, spooning it over juicy grilled shrimp, or topping handmade crab cakes with it (yes—YOU!) for the rest of the summer.
As you guys know, I dislike mayonnaise so I created this recipe to make crab cakes without the filler—just pure lump crab, a few simple ingredients, and homemade breadcrumbs (if you’re feelin’ fancy). Top (extra generously) with mango salsa and you’ve got yourself a bite of heaven.
Serve a few for a main course, or make mini versions for appetizers.
Watch full recipe video here:
Food La La Recipe: Crab Cakes & Mango Salsa
Mango Salsa
Yields: 2 cups
Ingredients:
- 2 mangos, peeled and roughly cut into chunks
- ½ red onion, roughly chopped
- 1-2 small jalapeños
- 1 lime, juiced
- kosher salt
Steps:
- Add all ingredients to blender and pulse to desired chunkiness.
Crab Cakes
Yields: 7 crab cakes
Ingredients:
- 1 egg
- 1 TBSP Worcestershire
- 1 TBSP lemon juice
- 1 shallot, finely minced
- kosher salt and cracked pepper
- 2 cups bread crumbs*
- 1 pound crab meat (remove any remaining pieces of shell)
- 1 red bell pepper, finely diced
- Coconut oil
- Green onion and edible flowers, for garnish
Steps:
- Crack the egg into a large mixing bowl and gently beat with a whisk.
- Add Worcestershire, lemon juice, and shallot, whisking to combine.
- Gently fold in red pepper and crab meat until evenly coated.
- Add 1/3 cup of breadcrumbs to mixture and fold to combine.
- Using a measuring cup or your hands, scoop about 1/3 cup of the mixture into a ball and press out moisture to form a cake. Set aside on a baking tray.
- Repeat with all crab mixture.
- Put remaining breadcrumbs on a plate, and gently dip each cake in to coat evenly, pressing again to remove any excess moisture. Set aside.
- Heat a cast iron skillet over medium high heat and add ½” of coconut oil. Once the coconut oil is hot (it sizzles when you flick water in the pan), place four crab cakes into pan.
- Let fry until golden on the bottom. Gently flip and continue to fry in coconut oil until other side is golden (about 3-5 minutes on each side).
- Remove from pan and let rest on a paper towel.
- Wipe out pan (WHY? #1) add fresh coconut oil, and fry the remaining crab cakes.
- Place one crab cake on a plate, top with mango salsa, and garnish with edible flowers and finely sliced green onion.
Psst! A few recipe notes:
- WHY? #1: If you don’t wipe out your pan, the little bits that have fallen off the crab cake will burn and your oil may start to smoke, which will make the food taste burnt.
- *Any recipe calling for bread crumbs will be much better with homemade bread crumbs. To make them yourself, slice a baguette thinly (this is a great use for stale bread!) and arrange on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season generously with kosher salt and cracked pepper. Bake at 350 until golden, about 10 minutes. Let cool slightly and put in food processor. Pulse until bread becomes crumb texture.
- Note: If crab cakes don’t stick together, add more breadcrumbs or another egg yolk to mixture.
- Note: If mango isn’t in season, choose frozen, pre-cut, organic mango, thawing before use.