Tortillitas de camarones are shrimp fritters from the province of Cádiz in

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The t ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. They are made with a batter of

wheat flour Wheat flour is a powder made from the grinding of wheat used for human consumption. Wheat varieties are called "soft" or "weak" if gluten content is low, and are called "hard" or "strong" if they have high gluten content. Hard flour, or ''bread ...

chickpea flour Gram flour or kadala maavu is a pulse flour made from a variety of ground chickpea called Bengal gram or ''kaala chana''. It is a staple ingredient in the cuisine of the Indian subcontinent, including in Indian, Bangladeshi, Burmese, Nepali ...

, water,

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onio ...

(alternatively

shallot The shallot is a botanical variety (a cultivar) of the onion. Until 2010, the (French red) shallot was classified as a separate species, ''Allium ascalonicum''. The taxon was synonymized with '' Allium cepa'' (the common onion) in 2010, as the ...

scallion Scallions (also known as spring onions or green onions) are vegetables derived from various species in the genus '' Allium''. Scallions generally have a milder taste than most onions and their close relatives include garlic, shallot, leek, c ...

), parsley, shrimp, salt and pepper. The batter is then fried on both sides in a pan with plenty of olive oil. Usually it is served with small side dishes. In Andalusia the shrimp species '' Palaemon longirostris'' is typically used, for which ''camarón'' is the local name. Because the shrimp are so small it is too difficult to shell them, so they are cooked whole. This specific species of shrimp is hard to come by outside of Andalusia. A different species of shelled shrimp can serve as a substitute, but without ''Palaemon longirostris'' the taste of the dish will be different. The dish originates from either

Cádiz Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia. Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...

San Fernando San Fernando may refer to: People *Ferdinand III of Castile (c. 1200–1252), called ''San Fernando'' (Spanish) or ''Saint Ferdinand'', King of Castile, León, and Galicia Places Argentina *San Fernando de la Buena Vista, city of Greater Buenos ...

, or possibly both. The dish became well known in the nineteenth century, but may have been created as early as the start of the sixteenth century. The Genoese colony present in

probably contributed to its invention, which might have resulted from the combination of Genoese

farinata Farinata (), socca (), torta di ceci (), or cecina () is a type of thin, unleavened pancake or crêpe made from chickpea flour. It originated in Italy and later became a typical food of the Ligurian Sea coast, from Nice to Sardinia and Elba isla ...

and Spanish ''gachuela''. In the predecessor of the dish vegetables might have been used instead of shrimp.

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite web, title=Andalusian recipe: Tortillas de camarones , date=2 October 2011 , url=http://www.inmsol.es/spanish-courses-spain/spanish-recipes/16-andalusian-recipe-tortillas-de-camarones.html , publisher=Instituto Mediterráneo Sol , accessdate=9 March 2014 {{cite web , last=Miriam , date=26 June 2009 , title=Andalusian tortillas de camarones , url=http://invitadoinviernoeng.blogspot.nl/2009/06/andalusian-tortillas-de-camarones.html , work=The Winter Guest , accessdate=9 March 2014 {{cite web , last=Monforte , first=José , date=4 March 2012 , title=Cinco siglos de las tortillitas de camarones , url=http://www.lavozdigital.es/jerez/v/20120304/sociedad/cinco-siglos-tortillitas-camarones-20120304.html , language=Spanish , publisher=La Voz Digital , accessdate=9 March 2014 {{cite web , last=Monforte , first=José , date=4 March 2012 , title=¿Dónde se inventó el plato? , url=http://www.lavozdigital.es/jerez/v/20120304/sociedad/donde-invento-plato-20120304.html , language=Spanish , publisher=La Voz Digital , accessdate=9 March 2014 Andalusian cuisine Legume dishes Tapas