Lion’s Mane Crab Cakes

Thanks to Three C Farms who supplies our store and me with the absolute freshest gourmet mushrooms! I have been having so much fun experimenting with all kinds of new recipes. We eat A LOT of meat around this farm, so it’s lovely to give myself a break with something so tasty as these crab cakes. This recipe produces amazingly similar taste and texture to crab. Awesome for those folks who have seafood allergies!

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound Lion’s Mane mushrooms, picked into “crab-like” pieces

1/4 cup vegan mayonnaise

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon tamari

1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning

1 egg*

1/2 lemon, zested

1 celery stalk, finely diced

2 tablespoons parsley, minced

2 tablespoons chives

1/4 cup gluten-free panko plus more for breading

oil for pan-frying (neutral oil such as avocado, 2-3 tablespoons)

LEMON SAUCE

1/4 cup vegan mayonnaise

1/2 lemon, juice

1/2 lemon, zested

1/2 teaspoon salt

*To make this recipe vegan, swap the egg with 1/4 cup Just Egg or another vegan egg replacement.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1 Cook the Lion’s Mane mushrooms in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté for a couple of minutes to cook off the water. Then place the cooked mushrooms in a strainer over a bowl and let cool.

2 In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, tamari, and Old Bay seasoning.

3 Squeeze the mushrooms to remove any excess water and set aside.

4 In the mayonnaise mixture, stir in lemon zest, celery, parsley, chives, and gluten-free breadcrumbs. Stir until well incorporated. Then fold in the cooled and strained mushrooms.

5 Using a 1/4-cup scoop, measure out the crab mixture and place on the plate with breadcrumbs. Gently coat the “crab” cakes and set aside.

6 In a large skillet over medium heat, pour 2-3 tablespoons of oil to cover the bottom and wait until the oil shimmers. Place the crab cakes into the pan and cook about 2 minutes per each side.

7 To make the lemon sauce, place all the ingredients into a bowl, whisk and adjust salt to taste.

8 Serve the lion’s mane crab cakes with lemon sauce and top with extra parsley and chives.