Crab Cakes and Prawn Salad

I purchased two hoochie-mama sized luggages yesterday, one a Samsonite and the other an Antler. I've been told that both these brands are really good so I bought one each to compare. I did not think our old suitcases were going to last until the end of our journey. One had a missing wheel, and the other was starting to tear. Luckily the ones I bought were on sale, as I did not realise how expensive they were!

This entree was made at hubby's request. It is his favourite, and again, this recipe is adapted from Matt Moran's self titled book. I made the crab cakes beforehand, and kept them frozen. All I had to do was deep fry them when needed. I actually did steam a couple of blue swimmer crabs to get the crab meat. What a lot of effort, but well worth it. Sometimes, you can purchase fresh crab meat from the seafood retailers but I haven't been able to find them lately. Do not use tinned crab meat.

Crab Cakes and Prawn Salad Recipe
(serves 4)

a little olive oil
8 large king prawns, peeled and deveined, with tails intact
Garlic aioli (4 tbsp mayonaise mixed with 1 tbsp lemon juice and 1/2 clove garlic)
Salad leaves for garnishing, dressed in a little olive oil

Gremolata:
1 bunch parsley, stalk removed
1-2 cloves garlic
olive oil

Blend parsley and garlic, add olive oil until a smooth paste. Season with salt and pepper

Crab Cakes:
150g blue eye trevalla fillet, skin removed and pin boned
250 mls milk
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 thyme sprigs
1 bay leave
1 rosemary sprig
100g mashed potatoes
100g cooked, picked blue swimmer crab meat
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp grated parmesan
1 tsp lemon juice
1 egg, lightly whipped with a fork
flour for dusting
salt and pepper
panko breadcrumbs
veg oil for deep frying

Season fish with salt, thyme, bay leave, garlic and rosemary. Leave in fridge for 1 hour. Rinse fish under water and pat dry. Place milk in saucepan and bring to boil. Add fish and poach for 3-4 mins. Then drain fish, reserving the liquid. Flake the fish and make sure there are no bones.
In a bowl, place the fish, parmesan, lemon juice, olive oil and mashed potato and mix together. Stir through the crab meat. Mould mixtures into round cakes, you should have 12. Place in fridge to chill for 30 mins.
Season flour with salt and pepper. Dust crab cakes in the flour. Coat with egg and roll in breadcrumbs. Repeat until all crab cakes are coated and crumbed. Deep fry in hot oil until golden. Drain on absorbent paper.

Heat a little oil in a pan. Pan fry prawns for 2 mins or until just cooked through.
To serve, place a spoonful of aioli in the middle of a plate. Place 3 crab cakes on top and finish with two prawns. Spoon small dabs of gremolata around the plate. Garnish with salad leaves.