Dirtiest Secrets

• 1/2 ripe medium California avocado, pitted and peeled
• 1 tablespoon low-fat mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• 1 fresh jalapeño or serrano chile (including seeds), stemmed and quartered lengthwise
• 1/4 cup fat-free (skim) milk

For crab cakes

• 1 pound jumbo lump crabmeat, picked over and coarsely shredded
• 3 tablespoons low-fat mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup minced fresh chives
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 2 garlic cloves, smashed
• 1/2 teaspoon herbes de Provence or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with foil.

Make sauce:
Pulse avocado with mayonnaise, lime juice, salt, sugar, and one fourth of chile in a food processor until chile is finely chopped. Add milk and purée until smooth. Add more chile if desired, processing until smooth. Transfer sauce to a bowl and chill, covered.

Make crab cakes:
Stir together crabmeat, mayonnaise, chives, lemon juice, mustard, pepper, and 1 tablespoon panko in a large bowl until blended well, then chill, covered.

Melt butter in a medium nonstick skillet over moderate heat, then cook garlic, stirring, until golden and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add herbes de Provence, salt, and remaining 7 tablespoons panko and cook, stirring, until golden brown, about 6 minutes. Transfer crumbs to a plate to cool. Discard garlic.

Divide crabmeat mixture into 4 mounds on a sheet of wax paper. Form 1 mound into a patty, then carefully turn patty in crumb mixture to coat top and bottom. Transfer to a baking sheet and repeat with remaining 3 mounds, then sprinkle remaining crumbs on top of crab cakes. Bake until heated through, about 15 minutes. Serve crab cakes with sauce.