Sauce
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 TBSP fresh lime juice
1 TBSP chopped roasted peppers packed in jar
2 TSP minced canned chipotle chilies

Cakes
1 cup Masa Harina (corn tortilla mix)
12 OZ crabmeat
1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
6 TBSP mayonnaise
6 TBSP chopped fresh cilantro
3 TBSP plus 1 TSP fresh lime juice 2 TSP grated lemon peel
2 TBSP olive oil

Mix all sauce ingredients in bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread Masa Harina on heavy baking sheet. Bake until lightly toasted, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Cool.
Mix crabmeat, bell pepper, mayonnaise, cilantro, lime juice and lemon peel in medium bowl. Mix in 1/2 cup toasted Masa Harina. Season to taste with salt. Shape crab mixture into twelve 2 1/2-inch-diameter patties, using scant 1/3 cup mixture for each. Place remaining Masa Harina in shallow dish. Add crab cakes 1 at a time, turning to coat. Transfer to baking sheet. (Can be prepared 4 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add crab cakes in batches and cook until browned and heated through, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to plates. Serve with sauce.

That Chipotle Aoli really makes this baby sing with flavor. The creamy texture with a little smoky, spicy kick compliments what’s going on in the crab cakes. Depending on how spicy you like it, a nice wine with a cooling effect is a Riesling like the Waterbrook from Washington state. I picked this Riesling because it also has a creamy texture, but isn’t overly sweet. It hides the tart apple but it’s tropical fruit nuances do a little jig on your palate with the combination of pepper, cilantro and chipotle. Out of the 4 taste regions on your palate, the crab cakes with aoli actually highlight a fifth taste region called, “Umami”. Looking at my little tongue diagram, you can see why these two might pair well together because the wine offsets, or compliments what’s going on in the recipe. Hit me back and leave a comment if you discover something new with this pairing. Cheers!