Rock Shrimp Scallion Fritters with Grapefruit Relish

By pikassob

Pan-Fried Rock Shrimp Scallion Fritters with Grapefruit Relish and Crème Fraiche

Ingredients

• SHRIMP:
• Dry ingredients:
• 2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• Wet ingredients:
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 ounce clarified butter, melted (or oil)
• 6 green onions, thinly sliced, green parts only
• 1 pound Rock shrimp, 70/90 ct., peeled and de-veined
• clarified butter or oil for pan frying, enough to coat the bottom
• GRAPEFRUIT RELISH (Yields 1 cup)
• 1 ruby red grapefruit
• 2 shallots, finely chopped
• 1 English cucumber, peeled, seeded and small diced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste
• Serve with:
• Freshly picked chervil
• A dollop of crème fraiche
• Grapefruit relish (see below)

Details

Servings 4

Preparation

Step 1

Shrimp

1. Preheat the oven to 400-degrees.

2. Thoroughly combine the dry ingredients with a whisk in a bowl.

3. Whisk together the whole milk, buttermilk, and egg yolks.

4. Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until just smooth. Don't over-mix or the fritters will be tough.

5. Whisk in the melted clarified butter until just combined. Again, don't over-mix.

6. Fold the sliced green onion and the rock shrimp into the batter and let rest in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

7. Heat over high heat with enough clarified butter to generously coat the bottom of a non-stick sauté pan. The butter should be very hot, almost smoking in the pan, when you add the fritters in small soup spoon-sized nuggets. It's best to work in small batches, and work quickly; otherwise the fritters may burn before you can flip all of them over in the pan. Keep them small and imperfectly shaped, with scraggly edges and lots of nooks and crannies for the butter to get in to and crisp up.

8. Spoon out small soup-spoon size dollops of batter and pan-fry on one side until golden brown and crispy around the edges. Turn the fritters over only once and pan-fry on the other side.

(Note: if your fritters are on the larger side you may need to finish the fritters in an 400° oven for about 6-7 minutes, or until cooked through.)

9. Serve the fritters three to a plate with grapefruit relish (see sub-recipe below), a dollop of crème fraiche, and freshly picked chervil to garnish.

Grapefruit Relish

1. Cut away the peel and the white pithy part of the grapefruit. Using a paring knife, cut out the individual grapefruit segments; set aside.

2. Juice the remaining grapefruit, and pour over the finely chopped shallots in a bowl; let marinate for fifteen minutes. Strain off the juice and reserve the shallots.

3. Slice the grapefruit segments into smaller slivers, and add to the marinated shallots. Add the cucumbers, olive oil, sugar, salt and pepper and gently stir to combine.