It was St. Patrick’s Day on Saturday and we always go over to Andy and Mark’s Irish Pub, The Roy to celebrate. Andy was a production artist who worked where I work. A few years ago, his partner Mark was down-sized and that’s when they started seriously thinking about opening a pub. Mark is of Irish decent and they named The Roy after Mark’s dad who passed away a year or so earlier. The pub is in a cute little up-and-coming area in the east end of Toronto called Leslieville; Andy and Mark have lived there for about 7 years, maybe more. Andy quit working with us shortly after they opened the pub, and it’s been doing very well. They serve house-made, honest pub food. It’s not expensive and it’s good and you can always be sure that you will get a smile and a hug when you visit.
We invited my friend Kim (boss and neighbour) to join us on our patronage to The Roy so she dropped by the house for a cocktail and a bite (I always serve some food with booze) before we headed over. Late last week I was over at Tracey’s Culinary Adventures and noticed a Shrimp Burger she blogged about and I thought it sounded interesting and way, way back, Greg at Rufus’ Food and Spirits Guide told us about his Mom’s Maryland Crab Cakes…I knew I had to combine the two somehow and make a delicious protein packed appi! Isn’t that what inspiration is all about?
These tasty little morsels were pan fried in a little canola oil
I wanted a protein packed appetizer because we were about to indulge in some drinking..maybe even more than one! And no one wants a HO, at our age! One would think we would know better!
I pan fried some and found the frying did not add to the flavour to any degree, so I baked the rest of them. I made the recipe twice and rolled them around in sesame seeds the second time.
These tasty morsels were baked in the oven
Gluten Free Shrimp Balls
Makes about 12 balls about the size of a melon baller (one bite)
Ingredients:
- 65 g raw shrimp, cleaned, de-veined and tails removed, chopped coarsely
- 1 tbsp cilantro, coarsely chopped
- 1/4 tsp lemon zest
- 1 tbsp fat free mayo
- pinch of cayenne
- 1/2 tsp Worcester sauce
- 1 green onion coarsely chopped
- 2 tbsp egg whites (or one whole egg)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp chick pea flour
- 1/4 cup black and white toasted sesame seeds
Directions:
- Pre-heat the oven to 375°F.
- Add all of the ingredients except the chick pea flour and the sesame seeds into a mini food processor and process roughly, you don’t want to make the shrimp into a paste, just smallish pieces.
- Pour contents into a small bowl and stir in the chick pea flour, adding enough to allow the mixture to form into a ball (cookie dough consistency).
- Roll around in the sesame seeds and place on a cookie sheet about 5 cm apart. Bake for 17 minutes or until they are golden.
- Serve hot with traditional shrimp sauce (ketchup and horseradish).
Now I don't mean to be rude, but that is MY martini — hands off!
Kitcheninspirations 