I know you’re going to love making and eating this easy appetizer/meze offering. Shrimp has a wide appeal, its available fresh or frozen practically everywhere, it’s sustainable, easy to prepare and of course, delicious.

We’ve all had fried shrimp…begining with breaded and fried, more recently Panko bread crumb (from Japan) has entered many households and now I’m going to show you how to use Kataifi pastry as a coating.

Kataifi pastry is that shredded wheat looking pastry that you will often find beside the phyllo packages in the freezer at the market. It’s mostly used for sweets but recently, I’ve seen it made into nests for savory dishes or jumbo shrimp wrapped in kataifi.

This method is much easier – you can take the kataifi out of is box and intentionally allow it to dry out…kataifi becomes the new breadcrumb! This recipe is quick, easy to prepare and from a taste perspective, the shrimp is still the star as you need not worry about eating too much kataifi vs. shrimp.

Nevermind how pretty they look, you’re surely going to be popping a few of these in your mouth!

Kataifi Shrimp

Recipe by Peter MinakiCourse: AppetizersCuisine: GreekDifficulty: Moderate

Servings

6

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

10

minutes

Ingredients

• For the Shrimp

• 24 large shrimp (16-20 count) peeled, tail on

• 250 gr. kataifi pastry, thawed overnight in the fridge

• Club House Roasted Red Pepper and Garlic Seasoning

• Vegetable oil for frying

• Honey Lemon Sauce

• 1/2 cup honey

• juice of 1/2 lemon

• Sriracha sauce to taste

Directions

• Pat your shrimp dry. Season the shrimp and toss to coat evenly. Set aside. Open your package of kataifi and tear off a 5 inch piece of kataifi and lay flat on your work surface.
• Place the shrimp on the bottom end of the kataifi and roll up and around the shrimp. Dip your fingers in a bowl of water and place the wrapped shrimp in your palm and gently squeeze (this will keep your kataifi from unraveling when frying. Repeat with remaining shrimp.
• Place the shrimp in your fridge for 30 minutes to set. Meanwhile, make the sauce by adding honey, lemon juice in a bowl and whisk to combine. Taste, adjust honey/lemon amounts. A Sriracha to taste, stir in and set aside.
• Place 3 inches of oil in a pot and bring up to 350F temperature. Take the shrimp out of the fridge while waiting for oil to heat up.
• Fry your shrimp for 2-3 minutes or until shrimp are pink and kataifi is golden. Remove from oil and reserve on paper towel lined sheet pan, sprinkle some sea salt on top.
• Arrange on a platter and drizzle sauce on top, serve warm.

Notes

• Kataifi pastry can be found at Greek and Middle Eastern specialty stores. It is usually frozen but some shops sells it fresh.