Cruelty Free Plant-Based "Crab" Cakes!

Yum yum yum! If you like crabby patties I encourage you to try this easy and raw plant-based version that's healthy, wholesome, without a single crab or critter in it. It's quick to whip up with a bit of down time, but with proper planning you can have these delicious and savory cakes right at your finger tips. You do need a dehydrator for this raw recipe to keep the ingredients raw and nutrient filled along with a crispy edge, but if you don't have one you can easily bake in an oven at a low temp instead. I prefer raw foods but may try pan-frying these at some point in the future for a quicker meal and will let you know how they turn out! Feel free to go crazy and experiment! Recipe taken and modified from my "Rawsome" book by Brigitte Mars.




Ingredients (for about 10-15 patties):

1 chopped red bell pepper
1 chopped zucchini or yellow squash (I substituted with collards and they worked fine)
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped snow peas (I substituted with edamame instead and it came out great! I even added a bit extra)
1 ½ cups pine nuts
¾ cup almonds soaked overnight (or flash soaked with hot water for 20-30 min)
1 tablespoon fresh ginger root
½ teaspoon sea salt (or more to taste)
½ cup fresh cilantro
½ cup water
optional: I added some chili powder for an extra kick :)


Directions:

Blend everything together in a food processor for smooth consistency patties, or for some veggie chunks, hand mix chopped veggies with blended up peas, nuts, ginger and spices. I blended mine smooth with everything thrown into a food processor, but some chunks of the pepper, collards and edamame remained which gave them a little texture and some fun color as well.

Form mixture into patties with your hands and place on dehydrator sheet. Original recipe suggests dehydrating for 24 hours but I put on a slightly higher heat and only dehydrated for about 5 hours with a crispy edge and mushy inside. Adjust the timing to your liking, anything in between should work well. Alternatively you can bake in an oven at your lowest setting for the same amount of time (or bump up the heat to 225 to make them bake quicker). The benefits of dehydrating/baking at the lowest setting include optimizing the amount of nutrients in foods and not killing them with over-heating. You're heating the food just enough to get that warm and crispy texture to make them taste very authentic but getting extra health benefits out of it.

Enjoy with a side of salad, corn on the cob or fresh veggies, or serve over a bed of fresh greens. Tastes delicious paired with a homemade Russian dressing (mix together vegan mayo and organic ketchup in equal ratios). Enjoy these hearty and wholesome "crab" cakes!