Sunday Recipe: Healthier Beer Battered Shrimp

I haven’t posted many recipes lately, mostly because I haven’t been making anything new. But today was bright and summery and my new summer copy of Eating Well came in the mail.

I just started my subscription to this magazine, and I have to say I’m in love. It’s the Middle Road of eating healthy - lots of quality ingredients and lots of whole grains, but at the same time, they’re not afraid of having an entire feature this month on types of awesome burgers (the cheddar bison burgers on whole wheat rolls that Ben made for us yesterday were delicious). They include the nutritional information but don’t go out of their way to ban “bad” ingredients from their recipes - they’re more for using small amounts. They’re also into eating green, which I like - last month they had a big spread on where and how you should buy salmon.

In any case, the weather had me wanting to make something fresh and different and Eating Well had a stupendous feature call, simply, Shrimp Fest! . I tried out their beer battered New England fried shrimp, which, although fried, involves 100% whole wheat flour and only two(!) tablespoons of oil. I thought it might be too good to be true, but really it’s just too good.

• A cup of pale ale or other light-colored beer (I used Sam Adams Summer Ale)
• A cup of 100% whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (sounds weird, tastes great)
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 pound large or extra large shrimp, peeled and de-veined, but with the tails on
• 2 tablespoons of canola oil

Mix the beer, flour, mustard, and salt. Whisk until smooth. (Note: you have to do this in two batches, so you have to repeat these next steps twice) Put half of the oil in a skillet on medium-high heat. Hold each shrimp from the tail and dip into the batter, knocking off the excess on the side of the bowl. Add each shrimp to the skillet, making sure they aren’t touching. Cook for about 2 minutes on each side, until curled, firm, and golden brown. Transfer to a platter, add pepper, wipe the skillet clean, and get to work on your second batch. If you’re just cooking for two, halving the recipe makes a perfect amount of food.

I served my shrimp with baby red potatoes and green beans tossed in rosemary and extra virgin olive oil. And a Sam Adams Summer Ale. I was going to take a picture, but we, uh, ate all the shrimp without breathing in between bites. Take my word for it, though: they are pretty. And delicious.