As this is always a homemade concoction, recipes vary for both ingredients and amounts. The rule-of-thumb is “to taste.” A key element that all agree on is the difficult-to-make roasted, powdered rice which I‘ve yet to find on U.S. market shelves. To make it, sauté rice in lime juice until browned but still with a trace of moisture then grind into a medium powder. This condiment is used to spice up any dish. Try it over rice pilaf.

Ingredients

• 1 ½ tablespoons ground, roasted rice

• 1 ½ tablespoons chile powder

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

• 1 tablespoon tamarind sauce

• ½ tablespoon sugar (palm sugar is best)

• 1 shallot, peeled and sliced

• 1 tablespoon soy sauce

• 2 tablespoons fish sauce

• 2 cloves garlic, chopped

• 1 cilantro root, minced (optional)

• 1/4 cup water or more if needed

Instructions

In a bowl, combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly. Transfer to a blender and puree. Return the sauce to the bowl and place it in the regfrigerator for at least 3 hourse for the flavors to blend and the rice to soften. Garnish with minced parsley, mint, and spring onion.

These delicious crab cakes are a wonderful way to use crab meat. The sauce is unusual and adds a dash of flavor. Serve the cakes with a spinach salad, garlic mashed finger potatoes, and fresh asparagus. Note: This recipe requires advance preparation.

Ingredients

• Fresh Tomato and Chile Tartar Sauce

• 2 cups mayonnaise

• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, or to taste

• 1/4 cup minced onion

• 2 tablespoons minced drained bottled capers

• 12 cornichons (French sour gherkins), minced

• 2 fresh jalapeño chiles, seeds and stems removed, minced

• 2 tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and minced

• Louisiana Crab Cakes

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

• 2 cups milk

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

• 1 pound crab meat, picked over, ground fine

• ½ cup minced red bell pepper

• 2/3 cup minced green bell pepper

• ½ cup minced yellow bell pepper

• ½ cup minced green onion

• ½ teaspoon ground cayenne

• 3 cups fine, fresh bread crumbs

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

• 2 tablespoons butter

• Lemon wedges for garnish

Instructions

To make the tartar sauce, whisk together the mayonnaise, the lemon juice, onion, capers, cornichons, chiles, tomatoes, salt, and black pepper, and cover and chill the sauce for at least one hour or preferably overnight.

In a saucepan, heat the 6 tablespoons of butter over moderately low heat until the foam subsides, add the flour, and cook the roux, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add the milk in a stream, whisking vigorously, and bring the mixture to a boil. Add salt and black pepper to taste and simmer the white sauce, stirring, for 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine the crab meat, bell peppers, green onions, cayenne, and the white sauce and let the mixture cool. Stir in 1 cup of the bread crumbs, shape the mixture into cakes using 1/4 cup measure, and dredge the cakes in the remaining 2 cups of bread crumbs, coating them thoroughly.

In a skillet heat some of the butter and oil over a moderately high heat until it is hot but not smoking; saute the crab cakes, in batches, for 3 or 4 minutes on each side, or until they are just golden, and transfer them to paper towels to drain. Add more of the butter and oil as you cook the remaining cakes.

Serve the crab cakes with the tartar sauce and lemon wedges.