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Vegan tortitas de camaron on a clay plate with nopales and a guajillo salsa roja
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Vegan Tortitas de Camaron

Vegan Tortitas de Camaron (Mexicans shrimp patties) a classic Lenten dish gone vegan in a guajillo chile salsa roja.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Mexican
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 4 servings
Calories 135kcal
Author Dora S.

Ingredients

To make the patties:

  • 2 cups Finely shredded zucchini
  • 1 tsp. Garlic powder
  • ⅔ cup Chickpea flour
  • ½ tsp. Smoked paprika
  • ¼ tsp. Ground mustard
  • 1 tsp. Nori powder
  • ½ tsp. Salt

Sauce:

  • 6 Guajillo chiles, dried stems, and seeds removed
  • 1-2 Chile de arbol, stems and seeds removed (optional)
  • 2 Roma tomatoes
  • ½ White onion, chopped
  • 2 Garlic cloves, peeled
  • 2 Cilantro sprigs
  • 1 ½ cups Chile soaking liquid
  • 2 ½ cups Chopped nopales, cooked (see note)

Instructions

To make the sauce

  • In a cast iron pan set to medium heat, toast the chiles for 20-30 seconds on each side. Be careful not to burn them, or the sauce will be bitter.
  • Bring a medium pot of water to a boil and drop in the chiles and the tomatoes. Lower heat and simmer for 15 min.
  • Remove chiles and tomatoes from the soaking liquid and place in the blender with garlic, onion, and 1 ½ cups of the chile soaking liquid. Season with salt and pepper, and process until smooth and strain. Set aside.

To make the patties:

  • In a large bowl combine the zucchini, garlic powder, smoked paprika, chickpea flour, ground mustard, nori powder, and salt. Mix well with your hand and let sit for 5 min. Mix again.
  • Grease with preferred cooking oil (optional) then scoop out 1/4 cup of the zucchini mixture at a time into the pan. Cook for about 3 minutes on each side, until light golden brown. Set aside.
  • Set a large saute pan to medium heat and pour in the sauce. Add cilantro sprig and let it simmer for 5-6 minutes. Add cooked nopales, stir, and adjust seasoning. Add the patties into the sauce and serve with rice.

Notes

  • To cook nopales, bring a large pot of water to a boil with salt and a cilantro sprig. Add nopales and cook until tender for about 8 minutes. Drain the nopales and rinse them immediately with cold water. Let them drain for a couple of minutes and now they are ready to use.
  • The patties will seem like they are too soft in the middle, but as they cool down they will firm up.
  • I only added 1 tsp. of nori powder, but if you want the patties to be very fishy you can add more. I made the nori powder by placing 3 sheets of nori (for sushi) in my blender and processing it into a coarse powder. You can also use dulse flakes.
  • I added chile de arbol, because I like mine spicy, but you can omit them or add more.
 

Nutrition

Calories: 135kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 2g | Sodium: 277mg | Potassium: 689mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 2485IU | Vitamin C: 24.3mg | Calcium: 116mg | Iron: 2.1mg