Prawn croquetas
Port-Vendres, which is between Collioure and Banyuls in the Languedoc-Roussillon region, used to be a thriving fishing port but sadly, due to overfishing, there’s now only one full-time trawler working there. The poissonnerie across the harbour still manages to stock a magnificent selection by buying from boats fishing in the Atlantic. The seafood bar there sells things like grilled sardines, squid, fruits de mer and a few Catalan specialties, including prawn croquetas.
Ingredients
For the filling
- 85g/3oz butter
- 115g/4oz plain flour
- 350ml/12fl oz full-fat milk
- 150ml/5fl oz double cream
- 250g/9oz small North Atlantic prawns, cooked and peeled (defrosted and drained if frozen)
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the croqueta coating
- 700ml/1¼ pints vegetable or sunflower oil
- 75²µ/2¾´Ç³ú plain flour
- 2 free-range eggs, beaten
- 175g/6oz panko breadcrumbs
Method
To make the filling, melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat. Add the flour and cook for a minute or so. Gradually add the milk and cream, whisking well all the time to ensure there are no lumps. Increase the heat slightly and bring the sauce to the boil. Turn the heat down and cook the sauce gently for 5 minutes, stirring often, by which time it should have thickened.
Stir in the prawns and season with 1 teaspoon of salt and plenty of black pepper. Spread this mixture out on a lined baking tray, cover the surface with a sheet of baking paper and leave to cool. Place the mixture in the fridge for 2 hours to firm up.
Heat the oil in a deep saucepan to 180C. (CAUTION: hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended.) Put the flour, eggs and breadcrumbs in three separate wide bowls.
Using two dessertspoons, scoop out eight portions of the prawn mixture, each weighing about 20g/¾oz, and drop them into the flour. Mould them with your hands into rough cork shapes and dip each into the beaten egg. Finally, coat each thoroughly in the breadcrumbs. Repeat with the rest of the mixture.
Lower eight croquetas at a time into the hot oil and fry for 2 minutes until crisp and lightly golden. Drain on kitchen paper and keep warm while you cook the rest. Serve immediately.