Prawn Crockets

  • 12/06/2006
  • Moderate difficulty
  • 4
  • 50 min

Portugal was once a great force. Today the reminder of this, are the monuments built in honour of their famous seaman. However, on a Portuguese menu, the ocean still plays the leading role. From anchovies and cod, to salmon and prawns.

Ingredients

  • 800 ml water
  • 1 tablespoon Vegeta Gourmet Stock Powder
  • 700 g fresh prawns
  • 40 g butter
  • 80 g flour
  • pepper
  • salt
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1 tablespoon bread crumbs
  • oil for frying
  • Batter:
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 200 g bread crumbs

Preparation

  1. 1.
    Into boiling water add Vegeta Gourmet Stock Powder, followed by the prawns. Cook on mild heat for around 5 minutes.
  2. 2.
    Scoop the prawns out of the water and keep the liquid (to be used as liquid stock).
  3. 3.
    Remove the prawn meat and place the shell back into the water, they were cooked in. Continue to braise for another 20-30 minutes.
  4. 4.
    Let the meat cool and then chop finely in the food processor.
  5. 5.
    Add flour into melted butter and cook shortly (ensure the flour does not turn brown in colour).
  6. 6.
    Pour in the cooled liquid stock (about 250 ml) and continue to braise until the mixture thickens.
  7. 7.
    Combine with the prawn meat, pepper, if needed add more salt, stir through and let cool.
  8. 8.
    When cooled, add the egg yolks and 1 tablespoon of bread crumbs. When stirred through the mixture will become thick. Form balls, about the size of a walnut.
  9. 9.
    Dip the prepared balls into scrambled egg mixture first, followed by the bread crumbs.
  10. 10.
    Cook in hot oil until they become golden brown in colour. Once cooked, rest the prawn crockets on the paper towel, to absorb excess oil.

Serving

Serve with various salads or sauces made from mayonnaise or tomato sauce.

Tip

Crockets can be cooked in a mixture of olive and sunflower oil.

Little secret

Once the prawns have been cleaned from the shell, dry them with paper towel. This makes the mixture easier to combine with other ingredients.

Notice

Freezing:
Freezing: Prepare the recipe up until step 4 – not including the frying. Place the battered crockets on to a tray and freeze for about 2 hours. Then according to serving sizes, place them in plastic bags and return to freezer.
Defrosting: Remove from freezer and let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes. Then continue cooking from step 4 onwards.

Energy and nutritional values

Energy and nutritional values are calculated per one serving (i.e. for 1 person). For a dessert, energy and nutritional values have been calculated per 100 g.

Nutrient Unit of measure Amount F rda (%) M rda (%)
Energy values kcal / kJ 568 / 2.374 - -
Fat g 29,83 - -
Carbohydrates g 35,39 - -
Dietary fibre g 1,20 - -
Protein g 39,95 - -
Sodium g 2,90 0 0
Vitamin A μg 636,55 16 13
Vitamin D μg 283,85 142 142
Vitamin E mg 4,17 19 19
Niacin mg 15,71 112 79
Potassium mg 417,85 11 11
Calcium mg 122,95 12 12
Phosphorous mg 405,40 51 51

* RDA is based on daily allowances for women of 2000 kcal, and for men of 2900 kcal at the age of 25 to 50. (Source: DRI reports - Macronutrients, Elements, Vitamins, www.nap.edu; Genesis R&D and Podravka d.d.)