Sriracha Crab Ravigote over Fried Green Tomatoes

In classical French cuisine, a sauce ravigote is a slightly acidic sauce served hot or cold, generally with delicate meats or fish. Not surprisingly, it's a rather different animal in traditional New Orleans cuisine, though it does retain the spirit of the original. Usually served cold with crab meat, typical ingredients of the NOLA version include lemon juice, capers, shallots, mayonnaise, and hot sauce.

The word ravigote comes from the French ravigoter, meaning to invigorate, and the sriracha, cayenne pepper, and paprika in my version of crab ravigote will certainly wake up the old tastebuds. The spicy sauce and sweet crab are just the thing to pair with the tart acidity of a crunchy fried green tomato - especially with a bit of Creole seasoning in the batter.

A word about crab meat: I love jumbo lump as much as the next gal, but as it turns out, the mania for it is not doing the domestic crab population any favors - after all, it takes a lot of crabs to get a pound of jumbo lump. So I decided to go with back fin meat from local Maryland blue crab. And it was every bit as sweet as the jumbo lump. Even better - it was a whole lot cheaper. So consider that the next time you get a craving for a crab cake.

Okay, okay: wake up, people! I am finished with the lesson for today. On to the yummies ...

Sriracha Crab Ravigote

1/3 cup mayo, preferably homemade or a good quality store brand

juice of half a lemon

1 heaping teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 shallot, minced

1/2 sweet red pepper, chopped

1/2 sweet yellow or orange pepper, chopped

generous squeeze of sriracha 

pinch of Cayenne pepper

pinch of sweet paprika

salt and white pepper, to taste

chopped parsley, for garnish

1 pound domestic back fin crab meat - preferably Maryland or Gulf crab 

Combine all of the ingredients for the sauce first and adjust seasonings to taste. Slowly and gently fold into the crab until just combined. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. 

Fried Green Tomatoes

2 green tomatoes, cut into 1/2 inch slices

1 cup AP flour

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup fine cornmeal with a generous pinch of salt, pepper, and 1 teaspoon Creole seasoning

Dip the tomato slices into the flour, then egg, then cornmeal. Fry in canola oil over high heat until crisp, about 3 - 4 minutes per side. Serve immediately with the crab portioned on top, garnished with parsley.

I hope it goes without saying that I had more than just this one ...