Recipe: Croquettes aux crevettes grises

This delicious dish featured on our Where the Dales Meet the Alps Cookery School course. We created a menu that included recipes from locations along the 2014 Tour de France route, including specialities from Yorkshire, France and, in this case, Flanders in Belgium.

Croquettes Aux Crevettes Grises

Ingredients (makes 8)

For the croquettes:
50g butter
100g plain flour
250ml whole milk
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
50g brown shrimp, chopped
50g freshwater prawns, chopped
75g gruyere cheese, grated
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the pané:
1 egg, beaten
100g dry breadcrumbs
Sunflower oil for deep frying

Method

1. Melt the butter in a pan over a medium heat. Stir in the flour to create a roux. Cook the flour and butter for 3-4 minutes until dry and crumbly in appearance, but not coloured.
2. Remove the pan from the heat and add the milk a little at a time, beating well after each addition. The mixture should be very thick.
3. Heat the olive oil in a pan. Add the chopped onion and cook until they have softened but not coloured.
4. Add the onion and cheese into the sauce, mix and season well with salt and pepper.
5. Allow the sauce to cool before adding the chopped brown shrimps and fresh water prawns to the mixture.
6. Using your hands, roll the mixture into small balls, (croquettes) and refrigerate for a few hours until firm.
7. Dip the croquettes into the beaten egg mix, and then roll in the breadcrumbs, making sure each croquette is thoroughly coated.
8. Heat the sunflower oil, in a deep pan, to 190ºC. In small batches carefully place the croquettes in the oil using a slotted metal spoon and fry for 3-4 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oil with the slotted metal spoon and drain on kitchen paper.
9. Serve immediately.

Notes:
The croquettes can be made in advance and frozen at the end of stage 5.

Garlic Aioli

Ingredients (makes 250g)
1 garlic bulb, roasted
1 thick slice of onion
2 egg yolks
¼ tsp dry English mustard powder
¼ tsp caster sugar
¼ tsp salt
2 tsp white wine vinegar
150ml sunflower oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Place the garlic bulb on the slice of onion and bake in the oven for 20 minutes on a moderate heat until softened. Once cool, carefully squeeze the softened garlic out of the bulb onto a board and gently mash the garlic into a purée using the blade of a cook’s knife.
2. Whisk the egg yolks, dry mustard powder, caster sugar, salt and one teaspoon of white wine vinegar in a bowl until well mixed.
3. Gradually whisk in a third of the sunflower oil, this will allow the sauce to emulsify and thicken.
4. Whilst whisking, add the remaining teaspoon of white wine vinegar, followed gradually by the remaining oil to create a mayonnaise. If it becomes too thick add a splash of warm water to loosen the mix.
5. Incorporate the roasted garlic purée to the mayonnaise.
6. Season to taste.