My husband opened a new restaurant in Naples, Florida, last November. Since then, he has rarely been home for dinner, so I have been cooking large meals much less frequently. I make a few dishes one day a week and then enjoy leftovers for a few more days. Cooking for one isn’t as enjoyable as having others to cook for!
I recently had a craving for fried shrimp. I am not sure why because I rarely eat fried foods, but after a few days of thinking about them, I went to the store and bought a pound of large shrimp and got busy. I like a lighter batter on my fried fish or shellfish, so I used the same batter to fry zucchini flowers. To serve my shrimp, I made a vibrant Meyer Lemon Aioli using lemons from the tree in our backyard.
These shrimp are best enjoyed hot, as they soften when they cool. I leave the tails on, but you could remove them before dropping the shrimp in the batter. Although I used fresh shrimp, frozen shrimp work just as well.
Deborah Mele
Ingredients
For The Shrimp:
- 1 Cup All-purpose Flour
- 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
- 1 Cup Club Soda
- 1 Pound Shrimp, Peeled & Deveined
- Vegetable Oil For Frying
- Lemon Slices To Serve
For The Meyer Lemon Aioli:
- 3/4 Cup Neutral Oil Such As Canola
- 1 Whole Egg
- 1 Egg Yolk
- Grated Zest From 1 Meyer Lemon
- 1 Tablespoon Fresh Squeezed Meyer Lemon Juice
- 1 Garlic Clove, Peeled
- Salt & Pepper To Taste
Instructions
- Put the egg, egg yolk, lemon zest, juice, garlic, salt and pepper, in a blender.
- Blend the egg mixture on medium speed for about 15 seconds.
- Increase the speed to high and start pouring the oil into the blender in a slow, steady stream.Â
- Continue blending until all the oil is incorporated and the mixture is thickened.
- Taste for seasoning and add more lemon or salt if you like.
- Heat 2 inches of vegetable oil in a medium Dutch oven to 375 degrees.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Whisk in the club soda to make a smooth batter. (The batter should be as thick as heavy cream; if it’s too thick, whisk in a little more club soda.)
- Spread some flour on a plate. Lightly dredge the shrimp in the flour, tapping off the excess.
- Dip the shrimp in the batter in batches, so they’re not touching in the pan, and fry until crisp and golden, about 3 to 4 minutes per batch.
- Season all with salt, and serve right away with aioli and slices of lemon.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4
Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 723Total Fat: 50gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 43gCholesterol: 332mgSodium: 1531mgCarbohydrates: 37gFiber: 2gSugar: 8gProtein: 32g