Cajun Crab & Prawn Beignets
Time for me to play catch-up on my blog posts. I’ve managed to finish my work for the day, so turn my attention to my blog :) Allow me to cast your minds back a few weeks to the first of our Around the World Date Nights, Destination: New Orleans, I cooked hubby a New Orleans style meal and for starters we had Cajun Crab & Prawn Beignets, which I made up as I went along! They turned out so delish, and no deep-frying involved either, making them healthy too :)
What’s a beignet you ask? I have no idea…let me go look…
bei•gnet
/benˈyā/
Noun
|
So there you go…a fritter! Sounds so much more exotic than crab and prawn cake too, donchathink?!
I made these beignets using tinned crab meat and cooked prawns. I mixed them up with cajun spices, spring onions, breadcrumbs and an egg to bind the ingredients together. I then used an oil spray to low-fat fry them off! I served them with a dip made with ketchup and low-fat mayo. Turned out better than expected – always a good thing!
- For the beignets
- 170g tin crab meat in brine, drained
- 200g cooked and peeled prawns, chopped
- 4 spring onions, finely chopped
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1-2 slices wholemeal bread, whizzed into breadcrumbs
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- ¼ tsp salt
- one calorie oil spray (e.g., FryLight)
- For the dipping sauce
- 2 tbsp mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp ketchup
- few dashes Tabasco sauce
- sprinkling cayenne pepper
- lemon wedges for serving
- In a bowl, mix together the crab, prawns and spring onions until well combined. Add the cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper. Check for seasoning and adjust if you like
- Add the beaten egg and breadcrumbs and bring together. You may need to add some more breadcrumbs.
- Form into 6 balls and flatten slightly.
- Place in the fridge for half and hour.
- Heat a frying pan, and when hot, spray with oil spray (or you could use olive oil if you prefer), gently fry the beignets for a few minutes on each side until hot and golden. You may need to add more oil spray so that they don’t stick.
- To make the dipping sauce, stir together the mayonnaise and ketchup, add some Tabasco sauce and cayenne pepper (check for your tastes)
- Serve the beignets hot with a lemon wedge to squeeze on top and the dipping sauce on the side.
