Little Shrimp Fritters — Tortillitas de Camarón
Mix onion and chopped parsley with chopped shrimp. Add flour and baking powder, then stir in water and wine to make a heavy batter. Season with salt and cayenne. Cover and chill in fridge for 3 hours. Heat oil and drop in teaspoonfuls of batter. Fry until golden brown. Drain and serve. hot.
Croquettes are popular appetizers, bite-sized and easy to handle in party situations. They’re usually made with mashed potatoes or some other starchy base combined with other ingredients such as fish, mushrooms, herbs, meat, etc., that impart flavor. Egg or a white sauce is often added as a binder. Croquettes are breaded or rolled in breadcrumbs or cracker meal and then deep fried until golden.
In Spain, croquetas are found on all tapas menus, many times flavored with Spanish Serrano ham (jamón Serrano, cod, mackerel, or shrimp.
Ingredients for Potato-Mushroom Croquettes
Boil potatoes in water until tender. Drain and mash.
In a separate pan, saute onions and mushrooms in oil and water over medium heat for three minutes.
In a large bowl, combine mashed potatoes, sauteed onions and mushrooms, seasonings and matzo meal.
Form into 10 croquettes.
Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat and fry croquettes for 8 minutes on each side.
Okay, so a bunch of chicken fat and livers and eggs might not sound healthy, but it’s what we used to eat all the time when we devoured chopped liver sandwiches on rye with a pickle on the side…
Saute liver in 2 T chicken fat for 10 minutes. Chop liver coarsely with onions and hard-cooked eggs. Blend in 2 T chicken fat, salt and pepper to taste. Chill. Serve with crackers or toast.
A vegan recipe for a savory spread or dip made from white cannellini beans, often known as white navy beans or haricots and in Mexico called alubias.
Remove loose skins from garlic heads and place whole heads, root-side down, in a 350 F oven for 1-1/4 hours, or in microwave for about 5 minutes, until soft. Squeeze the soft garlic into a blender or food processor, discarding skins.
Add beans, oil, salt and cayenne. Blend until smooth. If the mixture doesn’t blend easily, add a bit of the reserved bean liquid. Refrigerate until ready to use. Serve as a spread for crackers or as a dip for veggies. Will store up to 3 weeks.
Separated garlic cloves can also be roasted in their skins in a cast iron pan on the stove top. Shake the cloves often while toasting so that they don’t burn. They’re ready when they are soft.
Ceviche is a delicious white fish marinated in lime juice, Acapulco style.
Ceviche is made throughout Latin America, and there are many styles, although all involve marinating (or “cooking”) raw fish in lime or lemon juice. Historians claim that ceviche originated in the coastal regions of Peru and was spread during colonial times to other parts of the Americas.
Acapulco-style ceviche is typically made with chopped tomatoes, onion, chile peppers, and fresh coriander leaves. This particular version also includes optional olives, garlic, and parsley.
Cut fish into small cubes or strips. Cover with lemon or lime juice. Refrigerate for 6 hours or more, turning occasionally to make sure all the fish is immersed well in the juice. Drain and rinse slightly under cold water to remove excess lemon juice.
Combine tomato, onion, chile peppers, olive oil, parsley, coriander, olives, garlic and salt. Pour over fish. Allow to sit in fridge, covered, for at least 1 hour before serving.
Serve with crackers or tostadas (tortilla chips).
Garbanzo or chickpea dip is known as hummus, a Middle Eastern food that is eaten with pita bread and is rich in iron, vitamin B6, and fiber. The proteins of the garbanzo beans and sesame seeds complement each other, making it a very nutritious food.
Blend or process garbanzos, sesame tahini, garlic, salt, lemon or lime juice, and seasonings until smooth, using some of the reserved liquid from the garbanzo beans if thinning is required. You want a paste that is thick and smooth, not runny.
For variety, try adding either the chopped black olives or chopped sun-dried tomatoes to your dip, although plain hummus is just plain good.
Chill. Drizzle the olive oil on top and serve with pita bread triangles, crackers, or as a dip for vegetable crudites such as celery sticks, carrot spears, and sliced red peppers. .
