Crab cakes with homemade mayonnaise

Ingredients

• 400g white crab meat
• 400g cooked potato, pushed through a ricer
• 6 spring onions, sliced
• Small bunch of chives, chopped
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 egg yolk
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 25g plain flour, for dusting
• Olive oil, for frying

For the mayonnaise

• 3 egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 200ml vegetable oil
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

To serve

• Small bunch of watercress
• 1 lemon, cut into 4 wedges

Method

Start by making the mayonnaise. Whisk the egg yolks, mustard and vinegar together in a medium bowl until smooth. Slowly pour the vegetable oil into the bowl, starting with a little drizzle and whisking well. This is easiest to do with an electric hand whisk. Continue to drizzle in the remaining oil, whisking all the time, until the mixture has thickened. Season to taste.

Put the crab into a large bowl with the potatoes, spring onions, chives, lemon juice and egg yolk. Season and mix everything together well. Divide the mixture into 8 portions. Dust your hands with flour and form each into a round fish-cake shape roughly measuring 8–10cm in diameter and 2cm thick.

Heat a large, non-stick frying pan over a medium heat until hot. Drizzle with a little oil and pop the fish cakes in. Cook for 2–3 minutes on each side until golden and heated through. You may need to do this in batches, depending on how big your pan is.

To serve, pop 2 crab cakes onto each plate, garnish each with watercress and a lemon wedge and serve with a dollop or a little pot of mayonnaise.

Extracted from James Martin’s Great British Adventure by James Martin (Quadrille, £25) Photography © Peter Cassidy

For more traditional cooking ideas visit our British recipes section