(NAPSI)—Summer is the perfect time for backyard get-togethers, whether for birthdays, reunions, Labor Day or just to hang out with friends and family. Whatever the celebration, Americans across the country will gather to share their common love of food through fantastic regional meals and favorite hometown dishes.

With premium California avocados at their peak, now is the perfect time to incorporate this delicious and nutritious fruit into any cuisine to give it an all-American taste of summer.

For inspiration on unique ways to use California avocados, try this twist on a Southern classic—crab cakes. Chef Ryan Lamon of Peaches’ Smokehouse and Southern Kitchen in Los Angeles created Crab Cake Sandwiches with California Avocado Remoulade. The result is a savory sandwich with a West Coast-meets-South flavor, combining creamy California avocados with Louisiana hot sauce and paprika for a mouthwatering kick.

“I love the contrast of flavors and textures in these crab cakes. They’ll take folks on a flavorful tour of the U.S. in one bite,” said Lamon.

Crab Cake Sandwiches with California Avocado Remoulade

Recipe created by Chef Ryan Lamon of Peaches’ Truck for the California Avocado Commission
Serves: 4

Ingredients:

½ cup aioli

(see make-ahead recipe below)

1 large egg, beaten

1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

½ tsp. hot sauce

1 lb. jumbo lump crabmeat, picked over

½ cup panko breadcrumbs

1 lemon, zest only

1 cup all-purpose flour

¼ tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground black pepper

4 rustic rolls

California Avocado Remoulade (see make-ahead recipe below)

½ red onion, sliced

1 heirloom tomato, sliced

1 fresh California Avocado, sliced

4 green leaf lettuce leaves

1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

Instructions:

1. In a small bowl, whisk the aioli with the egg, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce until smooth.
2. In a medium bowl, lightly toss the crabmeat with the breadcrumbs and lemon zest. Gently fold in the aioli mixture. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
3. Using roughly ⅓ cup of the crab mixture per patty, form circular patties, around 1 to 1½ inches thick.
4. Mix the flour, salt and pepper on a shallow dish.
5. Lightly flour the top and bottom of each crab cake.
6. Oil a seafood grate and place on a medium-high-heat charcoal grill.*
7. Cook crab cakes on each side until golden brown on each side and heated through.
8. Coat both sides of the roll with a generous smear of California Avocado Remoulade.**
9. Serve each roll with one crab cake and top with red onion, heirloom tomato, avocado slices and green leaf lettuce leaves that have been tossed with the lemon juice, as desired.

*If you don’t have a seafood grate for the grill, you can also panfry the crab cakes using ¼ cup of canola oil. Heat the oil in a cast-iron skillet and cook crab cakes on each side over medium-high heat until golden brown on each side and heated through.

**For a lower-carb alternative, this recipe can also be served using a green leaf lettuce wrap in lieu of the rustic roll.

Aioli

Ingredients:

2 egg yolks

1¼ tsp. minced garlic

¼ lemon, juice only

¼ Tbsp. Dijon mustard

2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

1½ cups canola oil

⅛ tsp. salt or to taste

⅛ tsp. pepper, or to taste

Instructions:

1. Combine the egg yolks, garlic, lemon juice, mustard and apple cider vinegar in a food processor. Blend on low until smooth.
2. With the food processor remaining on low speed, add oil slowly and steadily. Once all oil is added, taste and season with salt, pepper and extra lemon, if needed.

California Avocado Remoulade

Ingredients:

1 ripe, fresh California Avocado, seeded and peeled

2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

2 cups aioli (see make-ahead recipe above)

2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

1 Tbsp. Louisiana hot sauce, or to taste

2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

2 Tbsp. minced sweet onion

2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

2 Tbsp. chopped bread and butter pickles (if bread and butter pickles aren’t available, any spicy-sweet variety of pickles will work)

1 grated medium-sized garlic clove

1 tsp. chopped capers

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. fresh ground pepper

½ tsp. smoked paprika

Ingredients:

1. Puree avocado with lemon juice in a food processor until mostly smooth.
2. Fold avocado mixture and aioli together in a medium mixing bowl. Whisk in mustard, hot sauce, lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce.
3. Stir in onion, parsley, pickles, garlic and capers.
4. Season with salt, pepper and smoked paprika.
5. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

For more unique ways to enjoy California avocados, visit www.CaliforniaAvocado.com