It’s been a while since I’ve traveled anywhere exciting, and I find myself dreaming of the days of taking a vacation and eating something that I didn’t make myself. New Orleans? I could totally go for a gumbo or jambalaya right now. Or maybe head to the east coast for some sun and seafood. Dreams for now.

But there are ways of traveling without traveling. Okay, really more like making my own travel inspired food and eating it at home. Like these seafood cakes. Shrimp, crab, and fish combined with a delectable blackened seasoning, appropriately named Blackened Fish. Served with a fairly simple tartar sauce that starts with using Ava Jane’s Kitchen Avocado Oil to make a homemade mayonnaise (it’s easy, I promise!)  and ends with a flavorful, spicy cajun sauce that is perfection with the seafood cakes.

The mayonnaise comes together super fast in food processor. From there, you can add a few more ingredients, to end up with a delicious tartar sauce that you can use on more than just these cakes. The mayo makes about 2 cups, so you’ll have some left over after making the tartar sauce. Which is fine, because there’s really nothing better to slather on your next turkey sandwich, I promise you.

Serves 4

Prep time: 90 minutes

Ingredients:

Tartar Sauce:

2 egg yolks

1 tablespoon white vinegar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon Colima Sea Salt

1 teaspoon dry mustard powder

1 bottle Ava Jane’s Kitchen Avocado Oil

1 dill pickle, finely choped

1 tablespoon capers

2 tablespoons chopped dill

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon Ava Jane’s Kitchen Blackened Fish Spice Blend

1/2 teaspoon Ava Jane’s Kitchen Hot Roasted Garlic

Seafood Cakes:

1 pound raw white fish, such as cod, finely chopped

4 ounces raw shrimp, peeled and deveined, finely chopped

4 ounces crab meat, well picked over

1 bunch green onions, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup finely chopped parsley

1 egg

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

2 teaspoons Ava Jane’s Kitchen Blackened Fish Spice Blend

2 tablespoons mayo (from above recipe)

Ava Jane’s Kitchen Avocado Oil, for frying

Directions:

First make the tartar sauce. Put the egg yolks, vinegar, lemon juice, salt and mustard powder in a food processor. Pulse to combine and then stream in the oil while processing until it becomes thick and creamy. Reserve 2 tablespoons for the seafood cakes and then transfer half the remaining mayo to a mixing bowl for the tartar sauce. Store the rest in the fridge for another use.

To the mixing bowl, add the remaining ingredients for the tartar sauce and stir until well combined. Taste and adjust the seasonings to meet your preferences. Refrigerate while you make the seafood cakes.

To make the cakes, put everything in a mixing bowl and mix until well combined. Form into 4-5 inch tightly packed patties. Refrigerate for 20 minutes to firm up.

When ready to cook, heat a heavy skillet over medium high heat and add some avocado oil. Cook the cakes until well  browned on both sides.

Top the cakes with the tartar sauce.

Easy to download PDF: Blackened Seafood Cakes with Cajun Tartar Sauce