Make it yourself: shrimp croquettes

In his new cookbook Vet Lekker, Danny Jansen joins forces with top chef Sergio Herman, croquette king Cees Holtkamp and FEBO director Dennis de Borst to get as close as possible to the snacks sold at the snack bar. Like this shrimp croquette.

You can also buy peeled shrimp and ask your fishmonger for shellfish stock if you don’t have time to make shrimp stock yourself.

Method

Peel the shrimp and reserve the shells and heads; you will have about 300 grams of shrimp left. Sauté the shallot in the butter and add the shrimp shells. Add 300 milliliters of water and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and simmer for at least an hour. Leave the stock to cool. Strain the stock and set the shrimp aside.

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in the flour. Stir with a wooden spoon for about 1 minute, until the flour begins to cook. Add one third of the stock, bring to the boil and whisk until you have a smooth, thickened sauce. Gradually add the remaining stock and the milk, waiting each time until the sauce has thickened and shines.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir the squeezed-out gelatine into the sauce. This is the salpicon. Beat the egg yolks with the cream and stir into the salpicon. Season with salt, white pepper, cayenne pepper and Tabasco.

Finally, add the peeled shrimp and chopped flat-leaf parsley. Stir and spread the salpicon in a deep, square dish. Cover with cling film. Leave to cool until the salpicon is cold and fully set. Feel free to leave it in the refrigerator overnight!

For the coating, beat the egg whites in a bowl and stir in the flour. Put both types of breadcrumbs in separate bowls. Divide the salpicon into 15 equal portions of about 60 grams and shape into croquettes with wet hands.

Roll the croquettes first in the fine breadcrumbs, then in the egg white mixture and finally in the coarser breadcrumbs. Make sure they are well coated. Repeat the coating if necessary.

Leave the coated croquettes to set in the refrigerator for about 1 hour.

Deep-fry the croquettes 3 or 4 at a time at 180°C for about 4 minutes, until golden brown and crisp. Drain on kitchen paper.

Title: Vet lekker
Author: Danny Jansen
Publisher: A.W. Bruna Uitgevers
Price: €20,-