Shrimp Fritters

This recipe is another one that I am quite pleased with as I didn’t really think I would be able to pull it off, batter isn’t always one of my fortes. I can make American style pancakes, but all other batter mixtures tend to be very hit and miss with me. I added a little cayenne pepper to the recipe to add a little heat, to give it a bit of a kick. I didn’t really alter this one very much. They would be great as a snack or perhaps one of those showing off type dishes, when friends come over and you want to impress with something a little different.

 

Shrimp Fritters

175g raw peeled prawns

175g plain flour

½ tsp baking powder

300ml water

1tbsp vodka

2 spring onions, thinly sliced

1tbsp chopped flat leafed parsley

Cayenne pepper to taste

Olive oil

Salt

1. Sift the flour, baking powder, and a pinch of salt into a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the water and the vodka. Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the water/vodka mixture, then whisk into a thick creamy mixture. Using a wooden spoon carefully fold in the prawns, spring onion, parsley and cayenne pepper.
2. Put about ½ cm of oil into a large skillet. Place it over a high heat, once it is hot and bubbling carefully drop large spoonful’s of batter into the skillet, using the spoon to spread them out, to make a thin crisp edge, only cook a few at a time.
3. Turn the fritters over occasionally so that they get puffed up and golden. Once cooked remove them from the skillet and drain on kitchen paper. Serve whilst they are really hot.

 

Scampi, one of my favourites

Scampi is a favourite of mine, breaded rather than battered, I regularly buy frozen scampi, and have them as a snack when no one is looking, or scampi and chips for dinner, with a homemade cocktail type sauce, lovely!  I got a strange satisfaction out of making these. I don’t know why this recipe was any different to all the others I have tried, but it felt extra special for some reason. It’s another Jamie Oliver inspired recipe, his were deep fried and I baked mine in the oven. I don’t like deep fat fryers and therefore don’t own one. I did try a minimal amount of fat in a deep saucepan once but I found that even though I used minimal, clean, fresh fat it was still stinky. Besides the scotch eggs I tried failed miserably. I am not really sure what happened to them, maybe the oil was too hot, because the sausage meat on the inside was raw but the outside was burning – then to make matters worse the sausage meat split and just absorbed loads of the fat making the egg rubbery. Needless to say that was the end of my deep fat fryer attempts. So I don’t batter anything, I have to bread it all and then bake them in the oven.

Scampi

100g plain flour

200g fresh white breadcrumbs

3 large eggs beaten

Salt and ground pepper

Cayenne pepper

1 lemon

800g fresh or frozen (thawed) raw prawns/shrimp

1.       Start by filling two resealable freezer bags, one with the flour and the other one with the breadcrumbs.

Put the egg into a bowl. Add salt, both types of pepper and some grated lemon zest to the breadcrumbs.

2.       In batches put your prawns into the bag with the flour, giving it a good shake to make sure they are well coated, then as you take them out of the bake, shake them gently to remove any excess, dip them in the egg and then put them in the bag with the breadcrumbs, again giving it a good shake to make sure they are well coated, shaking of the excess, remove them from the bag and place them on a lined baking sheet. Repeat the coating process until all the prawns/shrimp are coated in breadcrumbs, cover in cling film and put into the fridge until you are ready to cook them.

3.       Preheat your oven to 180˚C/350˚F and bake your prawns/shrimp for 10 minutes then turn them over and cook for a further 5-10 minutes, until they are golden brown and cooked through.

PIZZA

I love pizza; it is one of my favourite junk foods. For me when I am feeling blah, or poorly or just have midnight munchies I always go for a bread type snack, something about it is just comforting, reminds me of the better times when it was just me and my Mummy. I love toast for example, hot and slathered with lots of lightly salted butter or margarine like Utterly Butterly. As a child St Ivel Gold was my favourite. My Mummy didn’t buy it very often but when she did it was a welcome rare treat. I associate it with happier times I remember watching her one day buttering her toast and she looked at me smiled and said “Every now and again, Rebecca, there is nothing nicer than hot toast with lots of melted butter” I have to agree. I also believe that this was the beginning of my ‘dough’ obsession; I still savour every bite and feel comforted when I eat it.

The best pizza I have ever eaten was in America of course, Papa John’s BBQ Chicken and bacon ranch, whenever we ordered pizza that was what it would be and the garlic butter dipping sauce, heaven! As with most things in life I have discovered that all good things come to an end, eventually. America was one of them, I felt at home there and if it had been possible for me to stay I would have done. Never mind there is absolutely no point dwelling on that, I have brought lots of experiences away with me and different ideas about food that would never have crossed my mind before, and thankfully I am able to replicate the Chicken and bacon pizza that we loved so much. I have made three of these pizzas the first two were simple, one with ham the other with shrimp, all three were with store bought pizza base. I had made an attempt at pizza dough but it was too sticky and stuck to EVERYTHING, I did manage to get some of it on to baking paper (also a bad idea) and baked it to see what it would have tasted like… I wish in one way I hadn’t bothered, 95% of it was glued to the baking paper and therefore inedible but that little bit we did try was delicious, in fact I would go so far as to say that it was the best I had ever tasted….. Oh so bitter sweet disappointment. I will try again, I am just not quite brave enough yet. The BBQ was my favourite, sods law though I’ve lost the recipe, it very nearly captured the Papa John’s pizza, I even managed to make the garlic butter dipping sauce….. Gutted…. Here are the other two recipes though.

PIZZA

2 store bought pizza bases (unless you can make your own)

150ml tomato sauce

2 balls mozzarella torn into pieces

A bunch of basil

Salt and black pepper to taste

Olive oil

2 handfuls of rocket

The juice of ½ a lemon

9 slices of prosciutto

100g cooked, shelled shrimp

Parmesan to serve

 

1.      Preheat your oven to 220˚C/430˚F. If you are making your own pizza base now would be the time to do that. Working quickly, spoon enough tomato sauce to cover the pizza base, into the middle and working towards the edges spread it evenly out, leaving the outside edge clear. Scatter the pizza with mozzarella and basil, season to taste with salt and pepper and drizzle with a little olive oil.

2.       Bake your pizzas in the oven for 8-10 minutes, until the base is golden and crisp.

3.      Take the pizza out of the oven and drape one with the prosciutto and scatter shrimp on the other, scatter the rocket over both and a squeeze of lemon juice another drizzle of olive oil and sprinkle on some Parmesan…

CHOWDER.......... One of our favourites

A cornucopia, of flavours and textures make this spectacular dish – I love the way the potatoes come together perfectly with the sweetness of the onion and the salty bacon to compliment the shrimp and salmon. Topped off with the cream, it makes a delightful, soupy dish – Serve with garlic bread and jobs done!

Salmon and Shrimp Chowder

2 lbs potatoes
1 large onion
1.5 litres Chicken broth
300g Salmon cut into 1" pieces
200g Cooked Shrimp
250g Cooked diced bacon
470ml whole milk
240ml single cream
1 tbsp butter
½ teaspoon salt
Pepper to taste

1. In a large pot, combine the potatoes, onion and broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and cook for 10-15minutes or until tender.

2. Add the salmon and bacon, cook over a medium heat until fish flakes easily with a fork.

3. Reduce heat; stir in the milk, cream, shrimp, butter, salt and pepper; heat through, (DO NOT BOIL) thicken if desired. Serve with garlic bread.

My husband is let loose in 'my office'

In January 2011, my knee was playing up again, the pain had started just before Christmas, but because of the girls I was trying to “get through it” but the pain was that bad, I had to go to the doctor, I was told to rest and keep it elevated. Anyway that meant for the next few weeks (it was actually more like 10 weeks) my husband was let loose in the kitchen. He would bring a chair through to the kitchen and sort out a stool, so I could rest my leg. I know he was humouring me because the kitchen is my domain, or ‘My Office’ as my husband and one of his best friends call it, after all, all I did was bark orders at him, from the recipe book – but he could have done it alone, he was just including me in one of my few pleasures. It was a miserable time.

Ravioli And Shrimp

½ large onion, finely diced

2 tbsp butter
1 tsp cornflour
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 bay leaf
1 whole clove
½ tsp dried basil
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
1 pack fresh ravioli
400ml single cream
500g cooked shrimp
1 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
1 tbsp minced chives
 

1. In a large skillet, sauté the onion in the butter until tender.
2. Put the tomatoes in a blender, process until pureed, add the brown sugar and flour, then process again, now add it to the onion, add the bay leaf, clove, basil, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, then cover and simmer for about 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, cook the ravioli according to the instructions. Take out the bay leaf and the clove, from the sauce, reduce the heat again and slowly add the cream and then the shrimp, stir and heat through. Drain the ravioli, serve with the sauce and top with parmesan and chives.

Marinated Shrimp Salad

This marinated shrimp recipe is perfect. It hits all the right spots. It looks good, tastes good, and is easy to make. It’s great party food. I also made an ice bowl to go with it, so that I could leave it on the table for people to help themselves over a period of time and not worry about whether or not the shrimp would spoil in the heat.

Marinated Shrimp Salad

2 lbs cooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 medium red onion, thinly sliced

1 medium lemon cut into slices

1 cup pitted ripe olives drained

1/2 cup evoo

1/3 cup minced fresh parsley

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 garlic clove, minced

1 bay leaf

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

1. In a large glass serving bowl combine the shrimp, onion, lemons and olives.

2. In a jar with a tight fitting lid, add the rest of the ingredients; shake well, and pour over the shrimp, then very carefully stir to coat.

3. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours, stirring occasionally. Discard the bay leaf before serving.

Price Of Shrimp

One of the things I loved most about America, was the ability to go shopping and pretty much get everything I wanted under one roof. The only thing better than that, was the fish counter, catfish, tilapia, cod, salmon, tuna and shrimp, to name but a few. Oh my goodness the shrimp, big tasty shrimp, fresh ones. Simple things I guess please simple people, that or I just appreciate how lucky I was? Here in Germany you pay almost double for fish and it's all frozen and lacking in flavour and quality. I worked it out and I am paying $18.00 for a pound of shrimp, I was getting 5lbs for that in the States, admittedly it was frozen bargain Shrimp but it was still better quality, for fresh shrimp was paying around $7.00 per pound in America, I think or there abouts.

The reason for talking the price of fish? Shrimp tagliatelle, the thing I like about this recipe, is that it takes minimum effort to make it with all fresh ingredients, but looks and tastes as though lots of effort has been out into it. It's another one of those ones you have to admire for what it is. Simply put it's almost genius.



Shrimp Tagliatelle

2 tbsp evoo (extra virgin olive oil)
1 large onion, chopped
1 garlic clove
3/4lb (375g) mushrooms
1lb (500g) tomatoes peeled, seeded and chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1lb (500g) tagliatelle
3/4lb (375g) prawns
1/2 cup (125g) light sour cream

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet, add the onion and the garlic, cooking gently, stirring for 5 minutes, until glassy but not browned. Add the mushrooms and cook on a high heat for about another 5 minutes.

2. Now add your tomatoes, season with salt and pepper to taste and simmer gently, until the mixture thickens

3. Cook the tagliatelle according to package directions.

4. Add the sour cream and shrimp to the tomato mixture and cook on a low heat until the shrimp are heated through

5. Serve the shrimp on a bed of the pasta.


Most disappointed as I don't have a photo to go with this one!! :o(