Crab Cakes from Ben Hoggett at New Wave Fish Shop in Cirencester

I'm on a low carb diet and two days in I was clucking for something fried and crispy as a snack and after a bit of desperate digging around online I discovered desiccated coconut could substitute the Japanese Breadcrumbs I usually use when making Crab Cakes, not perfect but they did the job for me.

Somehow this recipe works much better with bite size pieces rather than one giant cake, perfect for canapés or something to serve with a drink before dinner, I'm not sure what wine you would match it with, but they won't be around long enough to worry to much.

For the Crab Cake:

100g white handpicked Crab 15 grams of Mayonnaise

1 teaspoon of Dijon Mustard

15 grams of desiccated coconut

Few drops of Tabasco

Small amount of chopped chives

Salt and pepper

Lemon juice to taste

Desiccated Coconut;

1 egg

1 lemon wedge

a wedge to garnish the plate

Salt and pepper

For the Garlic Mayonnaise:

1 Egg yolk

1 tsp white wine vinegar

150 mls Sunflower oil

1/2 the Juice from 1/2 a Lemon

1 heaped teaspoon of Dijon Mustard

1/4 of a teaspoon of Garlic when crushed to a purée

Water

salt and pepper

For garlic mayonnaise: Whisk together your egg, vinegar, mustard and garlic purée, salt and pepper, keep whisking and add your oil slowly a few drops at a time, be careful to incorporate the oil each time before adding more, loosen the mix with lemon juice , and a teaspoon of water, adjust the seasoning if you need to.

For the Crab Cake: Mix the top 7 ingredients together till completely combined and leave for a couple of minutes, test the mix to see if it will come together, if it's to moist add more desiccated coconut a teaspoon at a time mixing vigorously until your crab will come together so your able to form smooth patties.

Weigh you mix and divide into approx 20 gram balls (use scales and a calculator if you like) whisk your egg together till smooth and roll each Pattie one at a time, firstly through your egg mix and then through some more desiccated coconut coating them evenly, ( use a slotted spoon or fork to drain the surplus egg before coating with coconut) Shallow or deep fry until golden brown and hot in the centre of the cakes, 2-3 mins Serve with a dollop of your mayonnaise and a squeeze of lemon.