Mantis shrimp (Squilla mantis) stew

Mantis shrimp stew recipe

Preparation and cooking

• - Prepare mantis shrimps. Cut all abdominal appendages with sharp scissors.
  Trim the end of claws and telson but be careful not to hurt with their spiny parts.
  Remove the parts of the dorsal shell protruding from the side with scissors.
  Wash under running water and drain.
• - Clean leek and chop finely.
• - Put olive oil, leek and bay leaf in a non-stick frying pan.
• - Let all these ingredients fry on very low heat.
• - Add Squilla mantis shrimps. Let crustaceans flavor, stirring with delicacy.
• - Add tomatoes, season to taste with salt and cook for about 5 minutes.
  Cooking time depends on shrimp size. If they are big continue cooking for further 2 minutes.
• - Just before turning off the stove add aromatic herbs too.

Just before serving

• - Toast bread slices.
• - Put them on the bottom of a soup plate.
  
• - Cover them with your hot shrimp stew.
• - Serve at once.

Note

Tips

• - You can add a garlic clove to olive oil and leek, if liked. Remove it before adding mantis shrimps.
• - Remember Squilla mantis shrimps are better in winter when they have a red tube inside, called coral, made from eggs.

Menu planning

• - You can make a very tasty chowder with these ingredients and prepare a full menu. In fact in Italy we are used to eat this choder as second course while we use its cooking juice to season spaghetti. Cook 160g - 5.6 ounces for two people.
  Dilute your cooking juice with some tablespoons of the boiling water in which you are cooking pasta, if necessary.
• - Zuppa di cannocchie is a good choice for your daily menu if you are seafood lover.
  But you can also make it if you have guests provided that it is not a formal occasion.

Useful links for this recipe

- Want other details about Squilla mantis and compare similar species you know? follow the link!
• - I remember you my original home recipes can be made without salt. There is always a combination of flavors that substitutes salt. Other no salt recipes ...

Healthy eating

• - If you look at the nutrition facts, the first thing you note is this is a low-calorie and low-fat recipe.
  It can be a convenient choice if you are on a diet or follow healthy eating.
  But be careful, there is no bread in the nutrition facts. In every bread portion (50g - 1 3/4 ounces) there are 145 kCal you have to add.
  The only problem of this recipe is its cholesterol content. In fact, shrimps aren't high in total fat but their cholesterol is 85mg per 100g of edible portion (300mg daily requirement). Then a short calculation of the total amount of cholesterol in the recipe leads to the value of 102mg which is not excessive provided that you're within our recommended dose of shrimp (300g per head).
  According to the nutritionists we should eat protein at dinner. The recommended calories for dinner are 500 - 600 for a person with an energy requirement of 2000 kCal per day to be divided into five daily micro meals.
  Choose pasta with vegetable sauce and fruit for lunch to have an healthy daily menu.
  
• - The fiber content in this recipe is 4.2g (23g is the daily requirement). This is the reason why I suggest vegetable sauce to dress your pasta dish at lunch.
• - If you want to drink a glass of wine remember you have to add 80 to 85 calories per 100ml.

Loretta

What's the right wine ?

My husband Carlo and I suggest to pair Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi (white wine from Marche - Italy) to this seafood chowder.