Low Carb Shrimp Fritters

I love seafood! I love crab, scallops, oysters, clams, lobster, and pretty much every type of fish. Seafood is such a versatile ingredient in cooking because you can broil it, bake it, barbecue it, and fry it. I am fortunate to have grown up in the great Pacific Northwest where seafood is readily available. We are a few hours from the coast and all grocery stores have a pretty good selection all year long at prices that are reasonable. One year there was an overabundance of Dungeness Crab and it was selling for about $3 per pound. Needless to say, we ate a lot of fresh crab and made a whole lot of crab cakes that winter. 

Speaking of crab cakes (a.k.a crab fritters), I was thinking about making some this week when I came across an great deal for jumbo shrimp. I decided to switch over and use the shrimp in my recipe to see how it would work since the texture of shrimp is very different than crab. After just one bite my husband said," these shrimp fritters are soooo good!"I guess that is his way of saying he really liked them. 

The recipe is really very easy after you get your shrimp deveined and chopped. To save time, I highly recommend that you purchase EZ peel shrimp as they are so easy to peel and are often deveined for you. From start to finish it took me about one hour to peel the shrimp, prep the ingredients, and cook. Clean up is a snap because you only need one bowl and a nonstick pan. I just love recipes that are quick and easy, don't you? Give this recipe a try because I think you are going to love it. Happy cooking!

For this recipe, you will need the following ingredients"

Ingredients:

2 lbs large raw shrimp peeled, deveined, and chopped

2 1/4 cups of mozzarella cheese, grated

2 large eggs
1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 green onions, finely sliced

1/4 orange bell pepper, finely diced

1/2 scallion, finely diced
2 tbsp parsley, plus more to garnish
1 tsp salt  
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup  almond flour*
2 tbsp light olive oil 

Directions:

1.  Peel, devein, and pat dry shrimp with paper towels then dice into small chunks.

2. Place chopped shrimp into a large mixing bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mix with a large spoon until completely incorporated. 

3. Heat a large non-stick pan over medium heat and add 1 tbsp olive oil. Add 1/4 cup of shrimp mixture to heated oil and press down the tops until they are about 1/2"-3/4" thick.  Saute about 3-4 minutes per side or until golden brown on the edges and cooked through. 

4. Due to the Mozzarella cheese, fritters may stick a little to the pan. Gently using your plastic spatula, lift the edges off and scoot under the friter. They can be a little fragile and you do not want them to break in half. Place cooked fritters on a baking sheet lined with paper towels. 

5. Serve with tartar sauce or cocktail sauce. Makes approximately 10-12 shrimp fritters. 

*You can substitute regular all-purpose flour, but it will increase the amount of carbohydrates.