Croque aux crevettes
A really special brunch dish, this is my French take on Chinese prawn toast. These are hearty sandwiches, so if you’re serving them as part of a brunch buffet, just a half will be enough – unless you’re not planning to eat again until the evening! The walnut and coriander pesto makes a nice change from the usual basil version. The recipe makes more than you need for the sandwiches, but the pesto keeps well in the fridge for a week and is delicious with pasta.
Makes four sandwiches
450g peeled raw prawns
3 tbsp vegetable oil
3 free-range egg whites
3 free-range eggs
3 tbsp whole milk
Grating of nutmeg
8 slices of sourdough bread
Vegetable oil, for frying
1 tsp red chilli flakes,
to serve (optional)
Salt and black pepper
Walnut & coriander pesto
60g walnuts
Big bunch of coriander
(about 120g),
roughly chopped
1 garlic clove,
roughly chopped
1 tbsp grated Parmesan
1 green chilli roughly
chopped, seeds removed
6 tbsp olive oil
Salt
First, make the pesto. Put the walnuts, chopped coriander, garlic, Parmesan, chilli and olive oil into a blender and blitz to make a smooth mixture. Season with salt.
Put the prawns in a food processor with the oil and egg whites and season with salt and pepper. Blitz until smooth.
Beat the whole eggs with the milk in a bowl and season with salt, pepper and a grating of nutmeg, then set aside.
Divide the prawn mixture between 4 of the slices of bread, spreading it evenly, then top with the remaining slices. Cut the sandwiches in half, then dip each half into the egg mixture.
Pour some oil into a frying pan to a depth of about 1cm and heat. Shallow-fry the sandwiches, a few halves at a time, turning them until golden on all sides – this will take about 4 minutes in total. Drain the sandwiches on kitchen paper, then keep them warm in a low oven while you cook the rest.
Cut the sandwiches in half or into bite-sized pieces. Serve warm with the pesto and sprinkle a few chilli flakes on top if you want your sandwich to have a bit of a kick.
Cook more from this book
Root Vegetable Tart Tatin by Michel Roux Jr
Souffled Crepes by Michel Roux Jr
Read the review
Coming Soon
Buy this book: Michel Roux at Home
£26, Seven Dials
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