Shrimp Crepes

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Ever since I enjoyed Paul Prudhomme’s Seafood Crepes at K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen in New Orleans (before he went up to the New York restaurant), I’ve been wanting to try my hand at them.  In those days, he would be seen sitting at the back of the dining room (when he wasn’t in the kitchen) and often came over to your table to ask if you enjoyed what you ordered. 

His entree had both crab and shrimp, but crab in Central Texas leaves much to be desired, so I just used shrimp for my creation.  Man, did these ever come out GOOD!  My hubby gave this dinner a two thumbs up!  These are definitely different from K-Paul’s crepes, but I think I’ve put together an equally good dish.  I don’t recall any wine in his either, but I like a little in my creamy seafood dishes, so I added a little sherry to these.  You need to leave it out if you’re still in Atkins Induction phase.   But they’ll still be good without it! These would not be suitable for Paleo-Primal followers.

For this creation, I used Jennifer Eloff’s latest low-carb crepe recipe, with a couple changes.  That recipe is here:  http://low-carb-news.blogspot.com/2013/02/ultra-low-carb-crepes-and-another-idea.html .  I omitted the sweetener and vanilla for this savory application and I also added 1/8 tsp. salt.  I also made my crepes earlier in the evening so those would be ready to go when it was time to prepare the dish and assemble.  I just stacked the cooked crepes with plastic between each one and left on the counter.  My crepe maker is 7″ in diameter (Jennifer’s is only 5″) so I only got 5 larger crepes from the recipe.  Therefore, each of my unfilled crepes have slightly more calories and carbs:134 calories, 10 g fat, 7 g  protein, 3.56 g carbs, .28 g fiber and 3.28 g net carbs and these numbers are reflected in the recipe per serving nutritional numbers below.

INGREDIENTS:

1 recipe crepes (five 7″ crepes, made by Jennifer Eloff’s recipe minus the sweetener and vanilla:  http://low-carb-news.blogspot.com/2013/02/ultra-low-carb-crepes-and-another-idea.html

FILLING:

5 oz. shrimp, peeled and chopped coarsely (leave 1 or 2 whole for garnish if desired)

3 slices low-sodium, no salt added bacon, chopped

1 large shallot, sliced thin

¼ c. red bell pepper, chopped

¼ c. parsley, chopped

¼ c. white wine or sherry

¼ tsp. my Seafood Spice Blend:  http://buttoni.wordpress.com/2009/08/20/my-seafood-spice-blend/

Dash each salt and black pepper

1 c. heavy cream

½ c. water

1/4 tsp. glucomannan powder (or use your preferred thickener)

DIRECTIONS:  Make the crepes ahead by that recipe’s directions.  Stack them with plastic wrap between each so they won’t stick together.  When ready to prepare meal, brown the chopped bacon over high heat in a non-stick skillet.  When it is browned, added the shallot and red bell pepper.  Saute until they are tender. Add all the shrimp, including those left whole for garnish. Turn the whole ones when the first side is browned. When those two are done, remove them from the pan and set aside for now.  Add the parsley, wine (if using) and the salt and pepper.  Simmer a few minutes. Lower heat to lowest setting.  In a bowl, whisk the cream, water and slowly dust the glucomannan over the liquid (or whatever thickener you’re using), whisking constantly until blended. Pour the liquid into the skillet and simmer the filling a couple minutes to meld flavors.  The sauce will turn slightly pink from the bell pepper.    Turn off heat and plate the crepes as follows:

ASSEMBLY:  Place your serving platter by the skillet and the stack of cooked crepes close at hand.  Try to visually judge in the skillet 1/5 of the filling as you have 5 crepes to fill. Using a slotted spoon, so as to get mostly just the solids, place 1/5 (about 1 cooking spoon) of the filling into one of the crepes, roll carefully and lift the filled roll onto the platter, placing seam down.  Repeat for the remaining crepes, lining them in a row.  The remaining sauce in the skillet will be dribbled over the crepes.  If you don’t have enough sauce left to do this,  add a little more cream, blend with a spoon and adjust salt if needed.  Then pour the sauce down the center of the crepes on the platter and garnish with the whole shrimp you browned and a sprinkle of chopped parsley if desired.  I hope you enjoy these as much as we did!

NUTRITIONAL INFO:  Makes five servings, each contains:

371.2 calories

30.5 g  fat

7.06 g  carbs, .62 g  fiber, 6.44 g  NET CARBS

15.44 g  protein

287 mg sodium

258 mg potassium

51% RDA Vitamin A, 10% B6, 42% B12, 20% C, 20% D, 10% E, 16% copper, 26% iron, 10% magnesium, 13% manganese, 30% phosphorous, 27% riboflavin, 46% selenium, 14% zinc