Crabcakes Benedict with Mango Cream Sauce

There are few things my husband likes more than crabcakes, so I thought it would be a special treat to add Crabcakes Benedict to the menu this time around. Crabcakes and Benedict...in the same sentence!? Could it get any better than that?

Yes it can ... because mango cream sauce is delicious!

This was a late night to start cooking because we had to take Oia (the puppy) to the vet for her shots...and breakfast for dinner is usually a quicker process than other recipes so this worked out well. I gathered my mise en place: 

Mango Cream Sauce:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup heavy cream, warmed to room temperature

1 large mango, peeled, pitted, and diced

1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper

1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro (I used parsley because "the man" doesn't like cilantro)

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Crabcakes Benedict:

12 large eggs (I used 6, and made the portions appropriate for two)

12 crabcakes (I made 4, using this recipe: click here.)

One 9-ounce bag corn tortilla chips, finely crushed

Olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

6 English Muffins (I used 2)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley for garnish

That came together quicker than you'd think. The first thing I did was make the mango cream sauce. In a saucepan, I melted my butter over medium heat. 

Once the butter has melted completely, whisk in the 2 tablespoons of flour, until the mixture is smooth and fragrant...but does not change color. You don't want it to start browning.

At this point, add the cream and whisk until the mixture is well combined.

Add half of the mango, as well as the red pepper, cilantro (or parsley), salt and pepper to taste, and then bring the mixture to a simmer. You want the sauce to become thick, yet smooth. The recipe says to simmer for 8-10 minutes but mine was ready much sooner than that, in fact, I'll go far as saying that it was a little too thick. I'd maybe add a little less flour next time.

Okay, let's keep the sauce warm while we do the rest of the work. I promise the rest goes pretty quickly. Whisk two eggs in a bowl with a little bit of water, and then brush both sides of each crabcake with the mixture. Coat each cake with the crushed up tortilla chips.

Heat some oil or butter in a large skillet over medium heat, and once it's heated, add the cakes to the pan. If you decide to make a lot of them, you might need to do this in batches. Because I only made 4 crabcakes, it was fine to do them all at once. Cook them until golden brown on both sides, about 5 minutes per side. I placed them on a paper towel after removing them from the pan to absorb any excess grease that might be sitting on them.

Once the crabcakes are done, whisk up your eggs (in my case, I used 6) and season them with salt and pepper. Wipe your skillet clean with a paper towel and add some new butter to the pan. Once it's melted, pour in your eggs and scramble them.

Once all of your working pieces are finished, it's time to plate. Toast your English Muffins and put them on the plate. I gave us each two halves as a serving since it's dinner and not just an appetizer, and I topped each half with a crabcake. Pile some scrambled eggs on top of each crabcake and spoon some of the mango cream sauce on top. Sprinkle each half with the reserved diced mango, as well as some chopped parsley. 

Dinner fit for the beach! Welcome, Spring, we've been looking forward to your visit!