Potted shrimp is a classic Britsh recipe. It traditionally requires tiny brown shrimp cooked in clarified butter and flavoured with nutmeg. This mixture is then set in the fridge and, when served, cold the shrimp are spread on toasted bread.
I’ve made a variation on this British classic with this cucumber potted shrimp recipe.
“So why vary the classic?” I hear you ask. Well, for a number of reasons actually. Firstly, economic. I used standard shrimp instead of brown shrimp because brown shrimp are just so expensive. Secondly, I wanted a recipe that you could serve as an appetizer, like the traditional method, but could also be used as a replacement to canapes as a pre-dinner welcome nibble. And, finally, because I really love cucumber, garlic and chilli. Selfish I know but hey… ????
Ok, let’s get on an make them…
1. Gather all of the ingredients together
If you exclude seasoning, there are only 8 ingredients for this wonderful cucumber potted shrimp recipe. Shrimps and cucumber, obviously, garlic, chilli, paprika, rocket, radish and butter.
As a side note, you’ll see that I used one cucumber for this recipe. This made 5 potted shrimp and probably could have made 6 if I’d cut the cucumber smaller. The measurements for one cucumber are in the printable recipe below so just scale up if you want to make more than 5-6.
2. Prepare the ingredients
The key preparation here is clarifying the butter and I’ll show you how to do this in section 3 below. Regarding the other ingredients, however, there is a little bit of effort needed.
First the easy stuff. Just finely chop the garlic, chilli and rocket. Then roughly chop the shrimp. Just halving them will be fine. Finally, thinly slice the radish. You just need one slice for each cucumber pot.
For the cucumber, I partially peeled the skin. You can leave it all on or take it all off too. I just did it like this for decorative reasons.
Once the cucumber is peeled, cut the cumber into pots. As I mentioned before, I made 5 pots but you can make whatever size you want. Once cut, slice a thin slice from one end of each pot to use as the base. Finally, and using your finger, just poke out the seeds and clean through cold running water.
3. Clarify the butter
By clarifying, or drawing the butter you will remove most of the butter solids and any water and leave just the pure butterfat. To do this you need to first melt the butter and then leave off the heat for around 5 minutes.
Once the butter is melted gently pour the clarified butter from the pan to a bowl, leaving the solid matter behind. Alternatively, you can pour it through a mulsin cloth that will act like a fine sieve. Either way, the end result is a clear golden liquid.
4. Prepare the shrimp
Once the butter is clarified place this over low heat and add the shrimp. Heat this through for around a minute.
Now, add the chilli and garlic and, again, heat through for around 2 minutes this time.
Once cooked through, using a metal sieve, strain the clarified oil off and separate the oil from the shrimp, garlic and chilli.
Now, mix in the chopped rocket into the shrimp mixture and season to taste. Set this aside to cool in the fridge for around 30 minutes.
5. Pot the shrimps into the cucumber
Once the shrimp mixture has cooled and using a teaspoon, fill the cucumber pots with the shrimp being mindful to press the mixture down to the bottom of the pots.
Finally, reheat the clarified butter until warm and soft and gently pour this over each of the cucumber potted shrimp.
Set this aside in the fridge for at least an hour until the butter has set. And that’s it my fine foodie friends. Cucumber potted shrimp. Simple as that and so yummy!!
I do hope you enjoyed this twist on a British classic recipe. If you did and you’d like to see more when not sign up to my weekly newsletter at the top of the page. Or just click on one of my many other recipes like those below.
As always, many thanks for reading and until next time… Steve.
6. Nutritional values
7. Printable recipe
Cucumber potted shrimp. Serve as a delicious appetizer for your dinner party or as a simple nibble as your guests arrive. Shrimp, garlic and chilli all served in fresh cucumber. Yum! | theyumyumclub.com
- 1 cucumber
- 1 large clove of garlic
- 1 medium sized chilli pepper
- 100 grams butter
- 200 grams small shrimp
- 1 cup rocket
- 1 tsp paprika
- Seasoning
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First, gather all of the ingredients together.
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Next, prepare the ingredients by roughly chopping the shrimp and finely chopping the rocket, garlic and chilli. You can also peel off strips of the cucumber skin to be decorative.
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Next, cut the cucumber into the sizes you require for the pots and slice one end off as a base. Next, remove the seeds from the centre of the cucumber by pressing through with your finger.
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Now, clarify the butter by firstly melting in a pan and leaving aside for 5 minutes.
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Gently pour off the butter oil leaving the sediment at the bottom of the pan.
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Now, add the shrimp to the clarified butter and heat through on low heat.
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Add the chilli and garlic.
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Once heated through strain off the shrimp, chilli and garlic so that you have two separate bowls of ingredients.
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Add the chopped rocket to the shrimp.
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Now, stuff the cucumber with the shrimp mixture and press down.
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Drizzle the clarified butter over the shrimp and leave to set in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
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Once set the cucumber potted shrimp are ready to serve. Very simple and very tasty. Yum!
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