Shrimp in Potato Vests

Recipe from Eat Your Vegetables by Arthur Potts Dawson (Mitchell Beazley, 2012)

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• 2 large potatoes
• 3 tbsp cornstarch
• 3 tbsp cold water
• 4 tbsp finely chopped chives
• 24 large raw shrimp, peeled but tails intact
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 lemon
• salt and pepper

Serves 4–6 

1. Trim the rounded sides off each potato so that you have 2 boxy shapes about 31/2 inches wide. Using a sharp knife, cut the blocks widthwise into thin strips. You need to create 12 strips from each potato. Drop these into cold water. 

2. Drain the potato strips and pat them dry.  Soak 8 small wooden skewers in cold water. Mix the cornstarch with the cold water to make a paste. Using a pastry brush, brush one side of each potato strip with the cornstarch paste. Spread the chives out on a flat plate and season lightly with salt and pepper. Dip the shrimp in the chives, then roll 
up each shrimp in a potato strip, making sure they are completely 
enclosed. Take the wooden skewers out of the water and thread 
3 shrimp onto each.

3. Heat the olive oil in a skillet, add the skewers and cook over medium heat for 5–7 minutes, until a lovely golden brown, turning frequently to get an even coloring.

4. Serve with lemon cheeks, which have no seeds, are super-easy to squeeze and leave most of the lemon intact for something else. Using a sharp knife, slice 6 pieces off the rounded sides of the lemon, each with a little of the flesh, as if you are making a similar shape to the potato.

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