Shrimp Cakes
After preparing a plethora of Valentine's sweets, I once again have post-holiday "dessert burnout" syndrome. Thus, I now find myself constantly craving protein --for breakfast, lunch, dinner and even snacks.
I will be eating a lot of these tasty little seafood patties in this new phase of protein craze. Hence I am delighted to share one of my favorite recipes with you --this one for simple, savory shrimp cakes.
1 pound (raw) shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 red or yellow bell pepper, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons scallions, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon lime juice, freshly squeezed
1 tablespoon agave nectar
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
¼ teaspoon chipotle chile, ground
1 egg
½ cup cilantro, finely chopped
½ cup blanched almond flour
3 tablespoons grapeseed oil
, for sautéing
- Place shrimp in food processor, pulse until finely chopped
- In a large bowl, combine chopped shrimp, bell pepper, garlic, scallions, lime juice, agave, salt, chipotle, egg and cilantro
- Form mixture into 12 (½) inch thick patties, dip each in almond flour, coating thoroughly
- In a large skillet, over medium heat, warm 1 tablespoon oil
- Add 4 patties to the skillet and cook about 5 minutes per side, until browned; remove and place on paper towel lined plate
- Repeat with remaining cakes
This gluten-free, high protein recipe for shrimp cakes is one of E's favorites and also my husband's. J won't eat it unless under duress, preferring grilled cheese and quesadillas to just about anything I make these days. Alas, we had a good run for so many years where he was completely adventurous in his eating.
Now he is a pure carbo-holic asking me to pack him a lunch of sweetened, flavored yogurt with fruit leather. I have defied this wish of his and lunch comes home untouched day after day. Yesterday, after another virgin lunch came in the door, I asked him what was up and he said, "Mom, if you'd only pack me something good, then I would eat it!" Ok, yogurt and fruit leather, here we come. Can't starve the boy.
As for myself? I'm sticking with the shrimp cakes.
Posted on February 16, 2008 in entrees by Elana
other entries you may like: Curried Shrimp
or Vegetarian Pad Thai
or Thai Chicken Wraps
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Before you leave a comment...
"Check out Elana's FAQ page for info on substitutions -- there are just too many possibilities so she can't answer all of these : ) But the Forums are an excellent resource and I highly recommend posting your substitution questions there; everyone is friendly and helpful." -Katie
Good Morning... I have just received another email. I do enjoy receiving the information and the recipes that are included. I have a couple of questions regarding the recipe that I just received (shrimp cakes). Is the shrimp to be raw and not already cooked? Can a substitute be used for the agave nectar??
Thanks in advance...
Bonnie
Hi Bonnie-
Thanks for your comment and questions. Yes, the shrimp is raw (you form the patties with the raw shrimp and then cook on the stove in a skillet).
In terms of substitutes for agave, I have not tried anything else to sweeten this recipe. Are you allergic to agave or is there some other reason you do not to use it? Are you cutting out all sweeteners? If that is the case and you are trying to lower the glycemic index of the recipe then I would omit the agave, although having a sweetener in this dish really seems to add to the flavor of it --complementing the spicy and sour flavors in the recipe.
I hope this helps to answer your questions and thanks for stopping by.
Elana
Yum, Elana. That looks/sounds really delicious!
Sally- thanks!
Hi Elana,
Donna and I have tried this shrimp cake recipe a few times and while we find it quite delicious and simple, we are having a difficult time trying to keep each cake held together during cooking. Is there a secret you use to accomplish this or is being fragile just part of the deal?
Thanks again for letting us share in your site. Truly wonderful and delicious recipes and fantastic photos.
Barry
Barry- Great to hear from you. I hope you and Donna are doing well! In terms of the holding together issue here are couple questions we can start with to get this solved. First, is your shrimp well ground? Second, maybe pat them together more firmly. Third, maybe use a little bit extra oil in the pan. I hope these techniques will help the shrimp cakes hold together --we definitely need to remedy this situation. Let me know how it goes. xo Elana
Can shredded faux crab replace the shrimp?
Jay,
If you're keeping it gluten free probably not. Check the label very carefully, most faux seafoods are held together with wheat flour.
Elana,
I am making these tonight with some wild caught canned salmon from Costco. I didn't care for it in a salmon "salad" like with mayo and stuff... so maybe this will fulfill my Southern longing for fried comfort foods! I also have some fish in the freezer... Tilapia I think... that will be used this week to make those fish sticks on your flickr stream! Yum....
Jay -Good question.
Sharon -Good answer, I agree.
Chrissy -Nice gravatar; thanks for stopping by. Let me know how it turns out.
These are SO wonderful!! This is neck and neck with Elana's stuffed mushrooms for my top favorite thing to eat! I love shrimp cakes but have wondered how I could make a good recipe using almond flour and here it is!! I will make these again and again and again!
I didn't have any trouble at all keeping the cakes together. I think if the shrimp is well-drained of any water before food-processing, well ground in the processor and then not handled too much, they will stick together perfectly fine. I am going to try adding flakes of goat cheese inside them next time - I got the idea from a fancy restaurant my husband and I ate at on our honeymoon in Hawaii!
Thank you for another great dish, Elana!
We ate these tonight for dinner and they were unbelievably good. I should have patted my shrimp down a little better, but mine held together just fine. Thanks Elena!!
I made these today and had a bit of trouble holding them together... in my second batch I added a 1/4 c. almond flour to the shrimp mixture before making patties and dredging in more almond flour and had much more success. I also put everything in the food processor at once the second go around and was much more pleased with the time to prepare, texture and general quality of the final outcome! Thanks Elana! You are awesome and have made eating healthy so much fun! I also use coconut oil rather than grapeseed oil for sauteing... coconut oil will not putrefy as readily into a transfat when heated. Thanks again!