Crab Cakes with Roasted Asparagus and Sautéed Spinach

This may sound odd, but one of my favorite things to do when visiting another city or town is finding a way to see firsthand what a person’s day to day life is like and what it would feel like to live there. Since my life revolves so much around food, these adventures usually involve a ton of research to find the local restaurants and hit as many as possible. But to really cure my curiosity, I need to find some type of market. Walk around with all the locals enjoying their Sunday grocery haul, watch the interactions with the stand owners and the customers, take inventory of all the options, and purchase some things to truly test what it’s all about. So before hopping on my train back to NYC the other weekend, I made my ay to the local Ardmore market and went all chameleon style trying my best to blend in. Within 3 seconds I fell in love and regretfully realized that, with a train ride ahead, I couldn’t buy everything my eyes wanted. Instead, I decided on the first thing I saw when I walked in: jumbo lump crab meat. This meal further strengthened my love for this market and guaranteed another trip in the near future.

Ingredients (serves 2):

• Crab (½ lb)

• Spinach (½ bag)

• Asparagus (1 bunch)

• Egg (1)

• Almond flour (¼ cup)

• Spicy mustard (1 spoonful)

• Avocado oil

• Dill seed

• Celery seed

•  Mustard powder

• Salt & pepper

• Red pepper flakes

Directions:
1. Wash the asparagus and place on a tinfoil lined baking sheet in the oven @ 425 for ~20 minutes, tossing halfway, or until cooked through
2. Prepare the crab cakes:a. With your hands, break the crab into smaller pieces (still leaving some chunks)b. In a bowl, mix the crab, 1 egg, 1 spoonful spicy mustard, ¼ cup almond flour, celery seed, dill seed, mustard powder, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepperc. Combine all of the ingredients with your hands and form equal size patties
3. On a hot cast iron skillet, cook the crab cakes in avocado oil for ~5 minutes on each side
4. While the crab cakes are cooking, sauté the spinach
5. Serve hot and enjoy!

Diet/Allergy Compliant:

• Whole 30

• Paleo

• Pescatarian

• Low FODMAP

• Gluten Free

• Soy Free

• Nut Free