Savory Shrimp Pancakes

The weather is cold again. Snow dusted the roof tops this morning. I wanted something warm, flavorful, and quick. I threw together these savory pancakes in very little time. They made a good breakfast and tasty snacks later in the day. The basic batter is easy so the rest of the recipe is up to your imagination and taste.
Basic batter I used:

4 oz. skim milk
2 oz. plain, fat free yogurt
4.5 oz. self-rising flour
1/4 cup egg replacement (equals 1 egg)

To this I added 1 6 oz. can tiny shrimp for protein plus a small dice of veggies sauteed in 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil: orange bell pepper, green onion, porcini mushroom, jalapeno pepper, cilantro. Add the seasonings of your choice but taste first before adding salt because self-rising flour is already salted.

Simply add the wet to the dry, mix to combine, then use a 1/4 cupful per pancake, give or take. This recipe made 10 roughly shaped pancakes. I cooked them in a large non-stick skillet sprayed with cooking spray (a few times) and on a gentle heat. I really don't like it when the cakes get dark on the outside but still taste of raw flour. Please try some savory cakes soon. There is plenty of winter remaining!

Fresh Fig Grilling Sauce

I couldn't resist the fresh figs at the store. They were calling to me. I was listening. Once I had them home I ate a few. Dead on ripe.

I had fresh shrimp. I wanted to use the grill. Had a taste for something sweet and spicy. I wondered if I could use the figs for the sweet and some crushed red pepper for the heat. I turned a few ingredients into a great sauce for grilling. Great because the carmelization from the figs caused by the heat of the grill had a taste and smell akin to barbeque sauce. And that color. Let me tell you that the color only intensified as the marinade waited for me to use it.I used:

5 oz. fresh Mission Figs
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
sat to taste

I marinated the shrimp in the sauce for about an hour before grilling. I grilled some shrimp directly on the grill but the majority of them in the kabob baskets. I wanted to see what the difference would be. Shrimp grilled directly on the grill tasted great but most of the that great sticky, carmelization was left on the grill grate. The shrimp in the kabob baskets got nice bits of crispy carmelization that came back into the house with me for us to eat. Really tasty. I will be experiemtning with figs for a grilling sauce again soon.

Marinated Grilled Shrimp

I've been waiting to try my kabob baskets since we got our grill. No skewers involved. Sure, sometimes you want skewers for the sake of presentation. But when you just want to grill shrimp or veggies or chunks of tofu or potatoes and you don't want to mess with soaking and loading skewers, these baskets are great. It's the same concept as a fish basket, only each one is long and narrow. No sticking or trying to flip over skewers while the items simply spin around the skewers. The baskets are non-stick and they were easy to clean with hot soapy water and a kitchen sponge.

I used pretty big shrimp that I marinated first and it turned out great with a slight bit of improvisation.

For the marinade:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup unsweetened grated coconut
3 large cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
3 shakes toasted sesame oil
2 tbsp mirin
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp minced shallot
juice of 2 limes
1 tsp brown sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a bowl large enough to hold all of the shrimp. I marinated the shrimp for only about an hour before cooking. I don't want the lime juice to "cook" the shrimp before I can get it on the grill.

I then lined the kabob baskets with six shrimp. These go right onto the grill except for the handle - leave that off the grill. Now, you can certainly leave the grill open and cook the shrimp but I didn't want to loose all of that heat. But closing the lid onto the kabob basket only turned the edge of the grill into a fulcrum for a shrimp kabob see-saw, leaving the shrimp hovering somewhere inside the grill. So I propped up the lid only about an inch with my tongs (I wasn't using them any longer). I suppose you could also use a flat rock or an empty tuna can, etc. As long as you remember to wear an oven mitt before handling whatever you are using to prop the lid.I cooked the shrimp, turning once then back again, until they had just turned pink all over. They keep cooking after you remove them from the heat anyway. Cooking time will vary depending on the size of your shrimp and the heat of your grill. You can also see big slices of eggplant on the grill. Any excuse to grill eggplant. Any at all...

So what are you all grilling?

Coconut Lime Shrimp Pancakes

This recipe is directly inspired by Haalo's Goat Cheese and Red Capsicum Pancakes at Cook Almost Anything At Least Once. We never make pancakes, simply don't crave them. These were tempting because they are savory not sweet. Last week I made a version with reconstituted dried mushrooms finely diced and ricotta instead of red pepper and goat cheese (recipe at bottom of post). They were so delicious.

I wanted to participate in Rachel Rappaport's Coconut & Lime Blogiversary Contest and knew that these pancakes would be a great vehicle for coconut and lime. So this will be my submission.

Here's what I used:

1 egg
5 ounces lite coconut milk
4.5 ounces self-rising flour
1 6 ounce can tiny salad shrimp
2.5 ounces part skim ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons finely sliced scallions
1 tablespoon Spicy Cilantro-Garlic Paste (it's so easy to find places for it!)
1 tablespoon mashed potato
zest of one small lime
sprinkle of crushed red pepper flakes

Notice there is no salt. Self-rising flour already has salt (and baking powder) so don't add any to the recipe before you at least taste things. I found both versions of this recipe plenty salty from the flour alone.

Lightly whisk the egg with the coconut milk. Then add the remaining ingredients except flour and gently combine. Slowly add the flour to the egg mixture and incorporate.
I used a 1/4 cup measure scoop per pancake. I cooked these in a lightly oiled, large non-stick skillet on medium heat. I didn't want the outside brown while the inside was still doughy so I didn't mind cooking them a bit slower. I cooked until they were golden on each side. I can't tell you what makes a good condiment or side dish for these because we ate them immediately. Once they were cool enough to handle, we didn't even bother with a fork. They are delicious. What I like best is that no one ingredient stands out. Each pancake had a subtle taste of coconut, shrimp and lime. Just really tasty.

Here are the ingredients from last week's dried mushroom version:

1 egg
5 ounces skim milk
4.5 ounces self-rising flour
1/4 cup dried porcini mushrooms, reconstituted and finely diced
1 tablespoon mashed potato
1 tablespoon scallions, very finely sliced
2.5 ounces part skim ricotta cheese
1 tbsp minced fresh parsley
freshly ground black pepper

Tiny Shrimp Salad

Salads. Versatile, convenient, easy to make, with so much potential to be healthy. All kinds of salads can be made quickly, allowing for plenty of experimentation and flavor. You don't need globs of mayo or blue cheese dressing either. Basically you need the main ingredient, a source of fat, and a source of acid.

This will serve four for a lite lunch on a bed of greens, stuffed inside a whole wheat pita, with crackers, or on toasted slices of baguette. Serve along side a cup of soup. It's a great option for a picnic or potluck too.

2 6 oz. cans tiny shrimp, drained
1 heavy tsp dijon mustard
2 ribs celery, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 green onion, thinly sliced
1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
couple dashes rice wine vinegar (or freshly squeezed citrus)

Here are some additional suggestions for ingredients. Remember, use what you like.

• crushed peanuts
• crushed red pepper flakes
• minced fresh herbs
• slivered almonds
• diced apple
• your favorite hot sauce
• a flavored oil
• a flavored vinegar

Combine all ingredients. Eat. Simple, huh?

Garlicky, Spicy Shrimp with Crusty Bread

Here’s a quick and delicious dish that incorporates the fresh, green flavors of parsley with the sweet juices of shrimp. With a hunk of crusty bread to scoop up the chopped garlic, you have an easy Summer dish you will want to eat again and again. I love it and S makes it for me often.

1.5 lb medium raw shrimp,peeled (de-veined if you like)
1/3 cup packed flat-leaf parsley
1/2 tsp. coarse
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 bay leaves
2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (more for me!)
a loaf of crusty bread

Pile together parsley and garlic, sprinkle with salt and coarsely chop. Heat oil in a medium-sized, heavy-bottom skillet on medium heat. Add parsley/garlic mixture, bay leaves,crushed red pepper flakes and stir until fragrant and sizzling (2-3 minutes). Add shrimp and cook till it loses ts translucence. Season with salt to taste and scoop out shrimp with slotted spoon into a bowl. Pour the juices from the pan into a separate bowl, slice up the bread and dig in. If you like, you can give each guest a personal bowl of garlicky, shrimpy, olive oil goodness or just share one bowl fondue style.