Crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside, brimming with Oregon Bay Shrimp, fresh vegetables, sour cream and spicy mustard. Have I convinced you to try these yet?
This is one of those ‘cooking by the seat of your pants’ recipes, where I encourage you to substitute ingredients and additions as your heart desires. As food for thought, here’s how I put mine together: Oregon Bay Shrimp (fresh or frozen and thawed) that we will roughly chop. This is important because you will enjoy texture as opposed to a shrimp mash. I also threw in some sliced scallions, some finely chopped orange pepper since that is what was residing in my refrigerator, and some also finely chopped celery. I like to use the inner leaves, but maybe that’s just me. For the binding element, I used dried breadcrumbs, one egg, and a conglomeration of mayonnaise, sour cream, fresh lemon juice, and spicy mustard.
You can add as many or as few of the vegetables as you like, depending on the level of shrimp-ness you are fond of. This recipe used one pound of shrimp, and a total of about a cup of veg. OK, I confess I did not measure them – it’s my eyeball estimate. This is what my texture ratio looks like:
For the binder stuff, I used one egg, about 1 cup of dried bread crumbs, and about 1 cup or a little less of the mayonaise/sour cream concoction. This is where your good judgment comes in – your cakes have to have enough binder to hold together, or saute pan flipping will not be a pleasant experience. If it looks like of like this you should be OK:
Next, pull off a couple of sheets of parchment paper and make your cakes. I use an ice cream scoop to get equal amounts, then lay some plastic wrap over the top and smash them down gently but with purpose, using a small plate for leverage. Here is where the gift of patience comes in: Pop them into the refrigerator for a least a half hour to allow the cakes to firm up.
Ready? Use a nonstick skillet and don’t be stingy with the oil. Let the pan get nice and hot but not inferno level, and gently drop your beautiful cakes right on in. Let them sit there until you can see a nice brown crust form on the bottom. Gather yourself and get your wits together….this next part can be a challenge. When you flip them, it’s helpful if you use both a thin spatula to get underneath them, but also use another spatula or similar utensil to get under the other side and help the flip along. Yes, they have a tendency to fall apart if you do not do so. Never fear: if this happens to you, just do your best to smoosh them back together and chances are they should be just fine. If they are a little raggedy looking, they will still taste delicious and you will eat them so fast you won’t notice anyhow. If you let them rest in the pan for a few minutes before serving, they will reward you by behaving themselves and holding together much better.
Great with a little tartare sauce, served on a bed of lightly dressed arugula, or with rice. They also make a great shrimp burger – the possibilities are endless. Aren’t you glad you decided to try them? PS: I was going to post a photo of them nicely plated with the scenarios above, but I ate them before that could occur. I told you they were good!!!
Hope you enjoy. Happy weekend!! xoxoxo
Oregon Bay Shrimp Cakes
Ingredients
- 1 pound of fresh or frozen Oregon Bay Shrimp coarsely chopped
- 4 scallions sliced thinly on the bias
- 3-4 ribs of celery chopped fine (use inner leaves if you like)
- ½ of a large orange or yellow sweet pepper
- ½ cup reduced fat sour cream
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1 large egg
- Juice of half a fresh lemon
- 2 teaspoons spicy mustard
- ¾ - 1 cup of dried bread crumbs
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large bowl, stir together shrimp, scallions, celery and sweet pepper.
- In a small bowl, combine sour cream, mayonnaise, egg, lemon juice and spicy mustard.
- Gently mix sour cream mixture into shrimp mixture.
- Add breadcrumbs and stir to combine. Check for consistency - mixture should hold together easily enough to form shrimp cakes.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Add additional mustard or lemon juice if needed.
- Tear off two 18-inch sheets of parchment paper, and place one on top of the other.
- Using an ice cream scoop (or measuring cup), scoop out ½ cup portions onto the parchment. You should have about 8 portions.
- Cover the top of the portions with a large sheet of plastic wrap. Using a small plate, press down each portion, forming a cake about 4 inches across.
- Place cakes into the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to firm up.
- When ready to cook: Heat a nonstick skillet with about 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat until hot. Working in batches, fit as many cakes as you can without crowding the pan. Be patient – let them sizzle away until you can see a brown crust forming on the bottom of each cake.
- When ready to flip, use a thin spatula in one hand, and another spatula or similar implement in the other to help ensure the cakes don’t fall apart. They still might, but just do the best you can and smoosh them back together again. They will set up as they finish cooking.
- Allow cakes to set up in the pan for about 5 minutes before serving.