Spicy, Cheesy Crab Cakes With Roasted Red Pepper Sauce - cooking recipe

Ingredients

2 large eggs
1 cup ricotta cheese
3 tablespoons chives, snipped
3/4 cup fine seasoned dry bread crumb
1/4 cup vegetable oil, for frying
1/2 lb fresh crabmeat or 8 ounces canned crabmeat
1 cup monterey jack pepper cheese, shredded
For Sauce
7 ounces roasted red peppers
1/3 cup mayonnaise

Preparation

If using, prepare the sauce by blending the mayo and roasted peppers in a food processor until smooth. Set aside.
Whisk eggs in a medium bowl. Stir in crab, both cheeses, chives, and a quarter cup of the breadcrumbs.
Pour the remaining half a cup of breadcrumbs into a shallow dish.
Line a large plate or baking sheet with waxed paper. Line a second large plate or baking sheet with paper towels (the latter for draining the finished crab cakes).
Form heaping tablespoons of the crab mixture into cakes of a quarter-inch thickness, coat each with the crumbs, and place on the waxed paper-lined plate or baking sheet.
In a large skillet over medium high heat, heat the vegetable oil until a droplet of water thrown in starts to sizzle or until bubbles start to gather around the tip of a wooden spoon placed in the oil, whatever method you choose.
Fry cakes, a few at a time, until golden on both sides, approximately three minutes total for each batch.
As cakes cook, remove them to the paper-towel lined baking sheet.
When all cakes are cooked, move to serving platter, arranging around a bowl of the sauce, if you like.
These are also really good served with a squirt of Kewpie mayonnaise (Japanese mayo; it's sweeter) mixed with a few drops of hot sauce; I like to use Tapatio.