Recipe courtesy of Maureen Martin

This popular recipe came about as a “mistake.” Martin was supposed to serve Béchamel Crabmeat Stuffed Raviolis at a Commanders’ Luncheon, back when her husband was in the Navy, when things suddenly went awry. The ravioli fell apart when they were boiled and Martin, thinking quickly, took the crabmeat stuffing, patted it into crab cakes and voila! The rest, as they say, is history…

Béchamel Sauce
3 tablespoons butter
3 heaping tablespoons flour
Salt to taste
White pepper to taste
1-1/4 cups Half & Half, scalded
Begin by making a roux, melting butter and whisking in flour, stirring constantly. Keep whisking, and add salt and pepper to season. Cook approximately 3 minutes until light tan in color. Heat Half & Half to scalded temperature (heated just below the boiling point), and add it gradually to the roux. Whisk in to avoid lumps until sauce thickens. Let simmer until reduced to approximately one cup. Set aside in bowl and cover with plastic wrap until room temperature. Sauce will have custard-like consistency.

Crab Cakes
1 pound lump crabmeat, picked over for shells
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup green onions, finely diced
1/4 cup sweet red pepper, finely diced
3/4 cup water cracker crumbs, coarsely crumbled (Martin uses white pepper water crackers)
Salt
White pepper
Sauté green onions in butter until translucent. Add sweet red peppers and sauté an additional minute. Add onion/red pepper mixture to Béchamel sauce, then mix crabmeat and crumbs. Carefully add crabmeat mixture to sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Form into either 12 medium size crab cakes or 24-30 silver-dollar-size crab cakes.
Sauté crab cakes in additional butter until light brown on both sides and serve with Red Pepper Relish.

Red Pepper Relish
3/4 cup roasted red peppers, diced
1/4 cup flat leaf Italian parsley or basil, chopped
1-2 cloves roasted garlic
Balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
Combine roasted pepper, parsley or basil, and roasted garlic. Drizzle balsamic vinegar on top and mix with spoon. Season with salt and pepper.