My heart breaks every time I pass the seafood counter in the grocery store. The devastation that is inevitable at this point is so depressing. The gulf coast can’t seem to catch a break these days and I feel for all of those who rely upon it to carry on with their lives.
My blogging buddy, Drick, is witnessing first hand the looming disaster and has written several times about the sense of dread and the effects on people’s livelihood that this giant oil spill will no doubt bring.My thoughts and prayers are with all of the Gulf Coast right now.
So, as a little dedication and as a Mother’s Day celebration to myself, I made myself a divine shrimp dinner last night. The recipe is one adapted from the aptly named Gulf Coast Cooking by Virginia Elverson. It originally called for champagne instead of white wine, but I’m not the kind of girl to keep champagne on hand. It made a delicious sauce anyway. The potato cakes are a Thomas Keller recipe from Ad Hoc at Home. It’s very simple and delicious. The crispy cakes soak up the sauce and add a nice crunchy texture.
It really doesn’t take too long to make, but it does leave quite a mess in your kitchen. It’s a small price to pay for such deliciousness.
Crispy Potato Cakes
4-5 medium russet potatoes
5 scallions, green tops diced
1/2 cup cornstarch
canola oil
salt and pepper
Grate your potatoes in a food processor.
Immediately place them in a bowl of cool water and swirl them around to rinse them off.
Drain and dry in either a salad spinner or with a kitchen towel.
Toss the potatoes in the cornstarch until evenly coated.
Heat a 1/4 inch of oil in a 10-inch skillet until shimmering, then turn heat to medium. Add 1/4 of the potatoes in a layer in the pan in an 8-9 inch circle.
Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with a few scallions.
Top with another thin layer of potatoes.
Resist the urge to press down on them and let them cook until browned on the bottom. Gently flip the cake over ( with 2 spatulas) and cook the other side.
Drain on paper towels and cook the remaining potatoes in the same way. Keep warm in a 200 degree oven until ready to use.
Shrimp in Mustard Sauce
2 T vegetable oil
1 pound of shelled and deveined shrimp
5 scallions, white parts, finely chopped ( use green parts for garnish)
2 cloves of minced garlic
2 t. dried tarragon, or 2 T fresh tarragon
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup cream or half and half
1 stick of butter, cut into pieces
2 T dijon mustard
salt and pepper
Sprinkle shrimp with salt, pepper and half of dried tarragon.
Saute shrimp in a oil in a heavy skillet until just cooked through.
Remove from pan and set aside. In the same pan, add in scallions, tarragon and garlic and saute until soft.
Deglaze the pan with the wine.
Cook for a couple of minutes then add in cream and reduce by half.
Turn down the heat, and whisk in butter one piece at a time.
Whisk in mustard. Don’t let sauce boil. Season with salt and pepper.
Return shrimp to pan and serve over potato cakes and garnish with scallion tops.
Ingredients
Crispy Potato Cakes
- 4-5 medium russet potatoes
- 5 scallions green tops diced
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- canola oil
- salt and pepper
Shrimp in Mustard Sauce
- 2 T vegetable oil
- 2 pound of shelled and deveined shrimp
- 5 scallions white parts, finely chopped ( use green parts for garnish)
- 2 cloves of minced garlic
- 2 t. dried tarragon or 2 T fresh tarragon
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1/2 cup cream or half and half
- 1 stick of butter cut into pieces
- 2 T dijon mustard
- salt and pepper
Instructions
For Potato Cakes
- Grate your potatoes in a food processor.
- Immediately place them in a bowl of cool water and swirl them around to rinse them off.
- Drain and dry in either a salad spinner or with a kitchen towel.
- Toss the potatoes in the cornstarch until evenly coated.
- Heat a 1/4 inch of oil in a 10-inch skillet until shimmering, then turn heat to medium. Add 1/4 of the potatoes in a layer in the pan in an 8-9 inch circle.
- Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with a few scallions.
- Top with another thin layer of potatoes.
- Resist the urge to press down on them and let them cook until browned on the bottom. Gently flip the cake over ( with 2 spatulas) and cook the other side.
- Drain on paper towels and cook the remaining potatoes in the same way. Keep warm in a 200 degree oven until ready to use.
For Shrimp
- Sprinkle shrimp with salt, pepper and half of dried tarragon.
- Saute shrimp in a oil in a heavy skillet until just cooked through.
- Remove from pan and set aside. In the same pan, add in scallions, tarragon and garlic and saute until soft.
- Deglaze the pan with the wine.
- Cook for a couple of minutes then add in cream and reduce by half.
- Turn down the heat, and whisk in butter one piece at a time.
- Whisk in mustard. Don't let sauce boil. Season with salt and pepper.
- Return shrimp to pan and serve over potato cakes and garnish with scallion tops.
Nutrition
Yum! That looks sooo good!
Very savory!
yes, also being in the Panhandle, i'm still too depressed to address what happened. this is a fabulous recipe though and a great homage to sustainable seafood. very well done!