Crispy Chickpea Flour Shrimp Fritters

Crispy Chickpea Flour Shrimp Fritters

by | Le Blog, Recipes and Culinary Nutrition

Crispy Chickpea Flour Shrimp Fritters

Shrimp fritters make fun appetizers that pair well with many sauces. Usually, fritters are made with a wheat-based flour, but in this fritter, chickpea flour is the starch substitute providing a crispy crust.

Chickpea flour (Besan or gram flour) is a nutrient-rich ingredient completely made from chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans. Spices added to the chickpea flour adds a hint of heat and richer flavors.

Serve these with catsup chutney (Fast catsup chutney recipe) or a sauce of choice.

Chickpea Flour Shrimp Fritters

Recipe Type: Appetizer
Author: Michele Redmond
Serves: 22-26 fritters
Ingredients
  • ¾ cup chickpea flour
  • 3 Tablespoons rice flour* (if you do not have this use instead another ¼ cup chickpea flour)
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground sumac (a citrus-like flavor, but is optional)
  • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • ¾ cup carbonated or seltzer water (regular water can substitute**)
  • 2 Tablespoons shallots, minced
  • 12 ounces (3/4 pound) shrimp, peeled and chopped roughly into ½ pieces
  • ~1 ½ cup high-heat organic canola oil or vegetable oil
  • *Rice flour is a classic addition to fried batter as it results in a crisper fritter
  • **Carbonated water usually creates a bit lighter, less dense fritter
Instructions
  1. Place paper towels on a couple plates or a baking sheet.
  2. In a small pan or skillet (about 6” base), heat the oil over a medium-heat burner
  3. In a mixing bowl, mix well with a whisk the flour(s), soda, salt, sumac and cayenne.
  4. Add the water and shallot and mix until smooth. Add the shrimp and mix into batter.
  5. Oil is ready around 350˚F or test by dropping a bit of batter—it should sizzle. The amount of oil used should be able to cover about ¾ of the fritter.
  6. Use a teaspoon, scoop up the batter and release it quickly into the hot oil (do not drop from above).
  7. Leave a half-inch to one inch between fritters. Crowding the pan slows cooking (steam cools the oil) and reduces the “Crunch factor” plus it is easier to turn them over.
  8. Cook until each side is a dark brown color to ensure shrimp cooks completely—they temp at 170˚F+
  9. Remove with a wire skimmer or slotted spoon and place on paper towels and do remaining batch.
  10. Serve hot with a chutney, remoulade or sauce of choice or simply fresh lemon wedges.

    About Me

    The pleasure of food, good health and well-being through simple habits for eating well and flexitarian low-key cooking.
    Michele Redmond

    Michele Redmond

    French-trained Chef, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist & Food Enjoyment Activist

    It's about Making Food First

    Get Eat Well Academy periodic updates on easy ways to choose and cook foods that satisfy your appetite, nurture your body and make eating well a pleasure.

    I love Paris in the cheese time | French Cheese

    I love Paris in the cheese time | French Cheese

    by | Health and Food Culture, Le Blog

    I love Paris in the cheese time | French Cheese

    In a country that brags about 1,600 types of raw milk cheeses plus pasteurized options, shopping in a French cheese store (Fromagerie) stimulates or anesthetizes your senses depending on your tolerance for an overwhelming variety of options and the unique sensory aroma experience. One of my favorite French cow milk cheeses is Langres from the region of Champagne Ardenne on the Langres plateau. From a sensory experience, the barn-yardy odor hits you first and visually it looks like a tiny orange cake with powdered sugar—the orange color is from annatto seed. The concave cap is sometimes filled with a splash of champagne before eating, but I just dig in to enjoy its bready, earthy, sour-cream, mildly salty, sometimes fruity finish creamy experience. When I visit or work in France, it’s one of my first go-to cheeses. So far, I haven’t found a U.S. equivalent nor an imported version that survives the travel distance or the U.S. pasteurization requirements. If anyone has tried these or knows of any American cheeses with similar characteristics, please share your experiences or send me some cheese please.

    French Cheese Langres | thetasteworkshop.com
    French Cheese Langres | thetasteworkshop.com

    French Cheese Please

    The French get a lot of grief for their high cheese consumption. That they eat so much of it, so often, and without weight or health concerns. They even have verifiable better health outcomes than us Americans who may worry about frequently eating French cheese or any cheese. I explore these French eating paradoxes in other posts, but for now I propose that cheese can be a healthy part of a diet, presuming you’re not, sadly, lactose intolerant.

    The biggest cheese challenge I have in France is which of the 1,000+ officially designated types of cheese to buy and not whether it’s “healthy”.

      About Me

      The pleasure of food, good health and well-being through simple habits for eating well and flexitarian low-key cooking.
      Michele Redmond

      Michele Redmond

      French-trained Chef, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist & Food Enjoyment Activist

      It's about Making Food First

      Get Eat Well Academy periodic updates on easy ways to choose and cook foods that satisfy your appetite, nurture your body and make eating well a pleasure.

      Cauliflower Broccoli Tabouli

      Cauliflower Broccoli Tabouli

      by | Le Blog, Recipes and Culinary Nutrition

      Cauliflower Broccoli Tabouli

      I prepared this at the Season for all Cooks 2015 Edible Education Series http://labellaterre.com/blogs/blog/17102032-a-season-for-all-cooks-the-2015-edible-education-series    A fellow from Lebanon commented that it made him think of his grandmother’s tabouli; I told him his grandmother must have liked spiced tabouli since this is an unusual version of the traditional dish.Califlower and broccoli tabouli

      Cauliflower and broccoli tabouli with pistachios and pomegranate seeds

       

      Cauliflower Broccoli Tabouli with Pistachios and Pomegranate
      Recipe Type: Salad
      Author: Chef Michele
      Serves: 4
      A salad of Lebanese origin traditionally made with cracked wheat (Bulgur), lots of parsley, mint, onions, tomatoes, lemon juice and olive oil. Here bulgur is replaced by cauliflower and broccoli and additional piquant spices are added along with crunchy nut element and a hint of sweet from pomegranate.
      Ingredients
      • 1 large cauliflower, base and leaves removed
      • 1 large broccoli stalk (about 1/3 the amount of the cauliflower)
      • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about one lemon)
      • 1 large cucumber, peeled, quartered, seeds removed, then cut into 8 strips and diced (about 1 ½ cups)
      • 5-6 springs parsley, minced (about ¼ cup)
      • 2 spring onions, sliced in thin rounds
      • Lemon zest from one lemon
      • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
      • [br]
      • [b]Spice and seasoning mix[/b]
      • 2 teaspoons coriander
      • ¼ teaspoon allspice berries (about 6 berries)
      • ½ teaspoon of cumin seed
      • ¼ teaspoon of Aleppo chile flakes or red pepper flakes
      • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
      • [br]
      • [b]Garnishes:[/b]
      • Seeds from ¼ of a pomegranate
      • 1/3 cup toasted, salted pistachios
      Instructions
      1. Cut the cauliflower in quarters. Add the lemon juice to a mixing bowl, then hold the cauliflower by the base and using a cheese grater over the bowl, grate the florets against the larger holes (the grated size should be pieces that are about ⅛ inch). Stop grating if the results look like grated cheese strips and use the remaining stalks for a soup base or to roast.
      2. Grate the broccoli into the bowl in the same manner.
      3. Prepare the cucumbers, herbs, onions, lemon zest and add to the cauliflower mixture.
      4. Grind together the coriander, allspice berries and cumin seeds and toss into the cauliflower mixture along with the chile flakes and salt.
      5. Add the olive oil and stir well, then top with half the pomegranate seeds and pistachios and give a quick stir then toss the rest on top.

       

        About Me

        The pleasure of food, good health and well-being through simple habits for eating well and flexitarian low-key cooking.
        Michele Redmond

        Michele Redmond

        French-trained Chef, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist & Food Enjoyment Activist

        It's about Making Food First

        Get Eat Well Academy periodic updates on easy ways to choose and cook foods that satisfy your appetite, nurture your body and make eating well a pleasure.

        Healthy doesn’t mean health

        Healthy doesn’t mean health

        by | Health and Food Culture, Le Blog

        Healthy doesn’t mean health

        Tomatoes healthyNone of these mean you will eat better or have great health:
        • Choosing healthy foods
        • Cooking healthy foods
        • Eating healthy foods

        Each of these activities or all of these activities combined will not guarantee the weight and health that you desire unless healthy cuisine is part of your life.

        What is healthy cuisine?

        Healthy cuisine occurs when:

        o   You are fully aware of how you eat and why, and
        o   You are aware of the role of food in your life.

        Is healthy cuisine part of your life? These questions help to assess if healthy cuisine is a daily practice in your life:

        • Do you fully enjoy your food without worry or guilt?
        • Do you know why you like or dislike certain flavor and taste elements in food?
        • What are you thinking or doing while eating?
        • Why do you choose the foods you eat?
        • What is influencing how you eat?
        • How does your food heal and benefit you?
        • What priority does food have for you?
        • What priority does cooking have for you?
        • What are your cooking and family food traditions?
        • What is the quality of your food & how was it made?

        Cuisine reflects how food is prepared and the style of cooking or types of foods prepared. Cuisine is also a reflection of culture and how the world around us dictates our attitudes towards food and eating and how we decide what role food has in our lives emotionally, socially and healthfully.

        At Eat Well Academy, we explore these elements of healthy cuisine to be healthier and happier eaters.

          About Me

          The pleasure of food, good health and well-being through simple habits for eating well and flexitarian low-key cooking.
          Michele Redmond

          Michele Redmond

          French-trained Chef, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist & Food Enjoyment Activist

          It's about Making Food First

          Get Eat Well Academy periodic updates on easy ways to choose and cook foods that satisfy your appetite, nurture your body and make eating well a pleasure.

          Culinary Nutrition & Fats: Le Cordon Bleu, Paris

          Culinary Nutrition & Fats: Le Cordon Bleu, Paris

          by | Le Blog, New Events, Taste Literacy

          Culinary Nutrition & Fats: Le Cordon Bleu, Paris

          Culinary Nutrition in Paris: Fats that Give Back

          We launched this culinary nutrition fats class by discussing dietary fat myths and questions such as:

          • Can cooking oils become less healthy upon heating?Culinary nutrition fats LCB coconut oil
          • Does coconut oil stimulate weight loss?
          • Is coconut oil an all-purpose oil?
          • Is olive oil really the better oil for health?
          • What’s the latest on saturated fats and butter in healthy diets?
          • What happens when you eat higher carb foods with fattier foods?

          Culinary Nutrition: “Fat” Techniques

          We explored further questions during the class culinary techniques and tips such as:

          • Why do smoke points matter for food quality and taste?
          • How smoke points relate to culinary techniques & health?
          • What are the best tricks for non-stick sauté & tasty results?

            Culinary nutrition questions and answers

            Culinary technique questions in my favorite demo room

          • Which techniques pair with different oils?
          • What happens when you mix a low and high smoke point fat?
          • Clarified butter uses and can you overheat it? (we did a live test of this thanks to a curious student!)
          • How does Culinary Nutrition relate to cooking great tasting food and health?

          Slurping Fats for Flavor

          Palates were challenged with an olive oil tasting. Participants tasted two mystery French (Oils A & B) and one mystery Italian olive oil (Oil C).Culinary nutrition fats olive oil tasting

          How do you taste oils? Briefly follow the steps below but for more detailed info, email me for a handout.

          • Sniff
          • Slurp (rudely works best)
          • Feel
          • Swallow
          • Breathe out

          Participants discussed what aromas and flavors they perceived, rated the oils and guessed their sources and types.

          Olive oil

          Many students guessed the Italian versus the French versions.
          The Italian version was from Umbria and had complex notes of grass, artichoke, spice and a creamy finish with hints of pepper.

          This pricey oil (29 euros) limits it to finishing techniques and vinaigrettes. This can be found at http://www.oliviersandco.com/il-tempio-dell-oro-olive-oil.html

          Another olive oil was Puget which has made oils in France since 1857. It had high acidity and a pungent and peppery finish–a good all-purpose affordable oil. This can be found at any grocery in France.Olive oil puget

          Food Tastings and Recipes

          Tastings are designed to illustrate key differences in flavor components of cooking oils and fats and how techniques affect flavor. Key culinary techniques such as key tips for “non-stick” saute and knowing the four signs that a cooking oil is ready relate to flavor in several ways.

          Recipes are developed to be straight forward with quick prep but maximize flavors, textures and balance or highlight the five tastants. Recipes developed by the Taste Workshop for this class and tastings included:Lemon olive oil sorbet edcpfav

           

              • Salmon rillettes with hint of spice & citrus
              • Besan shrimp fritters w/ catsup chutney
              • Crispy chicken with sherry-vinegar mustard pan sauce
              • Meen Molee (Fish with coconut, lime and spices)
              • Citrusy almond and cornmeal olive oil cake with tangerine and Grand Marnier glaze
              • Lemon olive oil sorbet

           

          Thanks to LCB Paris and WICE for amazing support and for the interesting and engaged participants for this class. For more info visit:Le Cordon Bleu, Paris and WICE Culinary events

          Download Guide to Cooking Oil Smoke Points
          Download 3 Top Cooking Oils for the Kitchen

            About Me

            The pleasure of food, good health and well-being through simple habits for eating well and flexitarian low-key cooking.
            Michele Redmond

            Michele Redmond

            French-trained Chef, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist & Food Enjoyment Activist

            It's about Making Food First

            Get Eat Well Academy periodic updates on easy ways to choose and cook foods that satisfy your appetite, nurture your body and make eating well a pleasure.

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