I don't like shrimp, but mostly everyone I know loves it and I try to accommodate other people's palates when I invite them to dinner. This very simple tapa recipe from Cadiz seemed promising because of its simplicity and familiarity - I thought "shrimp cakes, crab cakes, how different can they be?. I still don't know the answer (I don't eat crab either), but everyone at my dinner party raved about the shrimp cakes. I will surely make them again.

Note that the original recipe called from chopped shrimp. I totally spaced on the chopping so I just added them full. It worked quite well this way. I served them with lemon juice, and I think that worked very well.

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Tortillitas de Camarones

Ingredients

1/2 cup flour

2 large eggs

5 tbsp. water

1 buch of scallions, finely chopped

2 tbsp. parsley,finely chopped

1/2 lb. shelled small shrimp

salt, pepper and paprika to taste

olive oil for frying

Mix the flour and the eggs in a bowl. Add water and stir into a smooth batter.

Add scallions, parsley and shrimp. Season with salt, pepper and paprika. Let stand to rest for half an hour or more.

Heat olive oil in a frying pan. Spoon in about 2 tablespoons of batter at a time, flatten with the back of the spoon into a thin pancake. Fry on each side until golden. Serve immediately.

Adapted from A Flavor of Andalusia