Pre-pandemic, Chef Ricky and I worked together at a cafe that served innovative plant based foods. We were known on campus for transforming vegetables into delicacies and seasonal celebrations with menu items like celery root shawarma. The shawarma was inspired by Chef Rene Redzepi of Noma.
During the last year and a half, Ricky and I have sent each other numerous texts with photos of our plant based meals. We challenge each other to come up with delicious, tasty and visually stunning plant forward dishes at home and professionally. Chef Ricky inspires me to look at vegetables as the star of the show. He inspires his two little girls, Reiss and Blake to do the same.
Chef Ricky is so motivated by his love for plant based foods and inspired by vegetables that he’s even started his own business for plant based meat products with his secret recipe and calls the brand “Faux Real.”
Eating plant-forward has saved my life and helps me manage my chronic illness. I couldn’t have done it without my chef-bestie and his love, creativity and knowledge of food. Thank you, Chef Ricky!
Our shared love for food unites us and Chef Ricky continues to inspire me. One of our favorite and most popular dishes is our Crabless Cakes. We have great memories of individually forming each crabless cake and serving hundreds of these for a lunch service. I hope you enjoy it as much as Chef Ricky and I have.
Ingredients
- 28 oz hearts of palm (2 14 oz. cans)
- 1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
- 2 each egg
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1 Tbsp dijon mustard
- 2 Tbsp Old Bay
- 1 tsp celery salt
Click the button to go to Instacart where we have prepared a cart with all the ingredients you’ll need! As a bonus, we will receive a small portion of any sales to support our mission of wellness and sustainability.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Drain hearts of palm, then using a fork, shred until broken down into smaller “crab meat-like” pieces. (Do not over mix, a few bigger pieces are fine.)
- In a bowl combine hearts of palm, 1/4 cup panko, whisked eggs, mayo, dijon, 2 tbsp old bay & 1 tsp celery salt. Using a rubber spatula fold mixture until fully combined. Chill for at least 1hr.
- Combine the remaining breadcrumbs and Old Bay seasoning. Remove the "crab" mixture from the refrigerator. Using a 2 inch ring mold or cookie cutter, fill the ring mold with crab mixture and coat top and bottom with additional panko. Place on a sheet tray and put in the freezer for about 30 minutes.
- Bake at 425 F for about 15 minutes or until breadcrumbs are golden. Remove from the oven and serve with your favorite coleslaw and dipping sauce.
Chef Tips
20 minutes to original cook time.
To make without eggs: Use a vegan mayo. Then substitute the raw egg with your favorite ready made egg replacement. Or, combine 2 tablespoons of flaxseed meal with 6 tablespoons of water. Let sit for about 5 minutes then add to the recipe like you would eggs.
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