CRAPPIE RECIPES Crappie Cakes with Creole Sauce Recipe submitted by Pappy Nichols, Lawrenceville, Ga.
1 ½ cups Creole sauce
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped Vidalia onions
¼ cup chopped green bell pepper
1 ½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper, in all
2 tablespoons minced garlic
6 teaspoons Creole seasoning
3 eggs
1¼ cups bread crumbs
6 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 pound crappie fillets, diced
1 cup flour
¼ cup water
1 14½-ounce can of peeled, diced tomatoes
Creole Sauce
Combine the tomatoes, 2/3 cup onions, 1 tablespoon minced garlic, 4 teaspoons mustard and 1 teaspoon salt in sauce pan over high heat and bring to boil, stirring occasionally. Cook 3 minutes, remove from heat and set aside.
Crappie Cakes
Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in large skillet over high heat. Add the onions, bell pepper, ½ teaspoon salt and pepper. Saute for 1 minute. Stir in 1 tablespoon garlic plus 1 teaspoon Creole seasoning and cook for 1 minute. Remove the skillet from the heat and pour vegetables into a large bowl.
Whisk 2 eggs into the vegetables. Stir in 2 teaspoons mustard, ¼ cup of bread crumbs, and parmesan. Gently fold in the diced crappie until well blended. Makes 3 cups.
Combine the flour with 1 teaspoon Creole seasoning in a bowl and mix well.
Combine the remaining 1 cup bread crumbs with 4 teasponns Creole seasoning in another bowl. Whisk the remaining egg with the water in another bowl for an egg wash.
Form 8 cakes from the crappie mixture. Thoroughly dredge each crappie cake in the flour mix, then the egg wash, then the bread-crumb mixture (shake off excess flour or crumbs).
Heat the remaining 3 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over high heat. Fry the crappie cakes until brown, about 2 minutes on each side. Drain them on paper towels.
To serve, top each crappie cake with 2 ½ tablespoons of Creole sauce.
