Romesco, Pesto, Crispy Shrimp, Veggie Chips

Crispy Shrimp Cakes

Eating more vegetables and less meat, I find myself craving crispy and crunchy -  hard to do with veg.  We both love shrimp, and I owed Sally a special dinner, so I decided on this for the main, 

and Veggie Chips with the Romesco and Pesto dips described below.

1 lb peeled raw Shrimp -- I used Rock Shrimp, but even "salad shrimp" will do

1/3 cup Mayo

2/3 cup Panko

1 Tbsp Prepared Horseradish

1 large Egg -- I used a duck egg, because I could

1 Tbsp minced Shallot

1/4 tsp each Salt & Pepper

Smoked Paprika to taste -- spice the surface of the patties as you lay them in the skillet

Chop the shrimp fine, combine everything in a bowl.  Form into 8 patties (about 1/3 cup each) and chill at least 30 minutes before cooking.

Heat enough vegetable oil to cover the bottom of a medium hot skillet (350F in my electric skillet) and fry the patties in batches, 4-5 minutes per side, until Golden, Brown and Delicious.

Drain on paper towels before plating.

Two Vegetable or Chip Dips
These recipes originated in Parade Magazine, but of course I've tweaked them quite a bit!  Great recipes for a veggie tray or finger-food accompaniment.  These recipes are a bit healthier than the originals, which called for varying amounts of EVOO to be drizzled in during the blending.  Yes, EVOO is "good" for you, but not adding oil at all is even better!

Romesco Sauce
Romesco is a nut and red-pepper sauce that originated in Tarragona, Catalonia, in northeastern Spain.  Created by local fishermen to serve with a variety of fish, it's also excellent on eggs, or with vegetables or chips.

3/4 cu Sliced Almonds
2 Roasted Red Peppers from a jar, drained
1 Tbsp Malt Vinegar
1 Tbsp White Wine Vinegar
1-2 Tbsp minced oil-packed Sundried Tomatoes
1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika
1/2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
1/2 tsp fresh cracked Black Pepper
6-8 largish Basil Leaves
1-2 peeled Garlic cloves

Throw it all in your blender and take it for a whirrrr for 1 minute or more until smooth.  Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Transfer to a serving bowl and chill.

Spring Pea Pesto
Originally called Pesto alla Genovese, this Italian dish from Ligurian region of Italy combines a million variations on basil, salt, garlic and "other things".  This version uses peas, basil and mint, garlic and more.  The peas are frozen not fresh picked in the spring (if you've got 'em use 'em) but this is really, really good.

10 oz thawed Frozen Peas
1/3 cup chopped Basil
1/3 cup chopped Mint leaves
1 peeled Garlic clove
Juice of a Lemon
1/2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground Black Pepper

Put it all in your food processor and pulse for about a minute until the peas are broken down but still chunky.  Scrape down the sides and pulse again 10-15 seconds.  Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.  Transfer to a serving bowl and chill.

Veggie Chips
I tried these awhile back with zucchini.  This time I'm going for firmer veggies and lower/slower temps.

Preheat the oven to 300F.

Jicama
Daikon
Sweet Potato
Herbs & spices to taste

I mandolin sliced the veggies a bit less than 1/8" thin, tossed them with some EVOO and laid them out on my baking trays before dusting with an Italian blend of spices and Cavender'stm Greek spice blend.

First process check on the baking, after 30 minutes.  Then every 10 minutes.  These took just a bit too long at 65 minutes.

One of these days I'll get a batch of chips that a just brown enough, but not blackening...  They taste pretty darn good though; that's for sure!    I may also get a couple of large racks so that the chips are cooking on both sides simultaneous, not with one side down on parchment.