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Prep Time: 0 Minutes Cook Time: 30 Minutes |
Ready In: 30 Minutes Servings: 4 |
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A basic dish in the Cajun-Creole cuisine is Shrimp Creole. A lively flavored sauce with pink shrimp, served over rice. Ingredients:
1 lb shrimp; reserve heads and shells |
4 cups water |
3 tablespoons olive oil |
2/3 cup chopped onion |
2/3 cup chopped green bell pepper |
1-1/2 cups chopped celery stalks |
2 cups peeled, seeded, chopped tomato meats, with juice |
1/2 teaspoon sugar*; for fresh tomatoes |
1 teaspoon salt |
1/2 teaspoon fine ground cayenne pepper |
3/4 teaspoon fine ground black pepper |
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves |
1 teaspoon dried crushed basil leaves |
1 teaspoon bay, dried whole bay leaves |
1 cup tomato sauce |
1/2 cup finely chopped green onion |
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley leaves |
Directions:
1. Peel and devein the shrimp.
2. Place heads, if you have them, and peels in a small saucepan and add the water and a teaspoon of oil. Bring to a slow boil over medium-high heat and let boil slowly for 15-20 minutes. Strain and discard the heads and peels, but reserve the shrimp stock.
3. Place the oil in a large, heavy-bottom pot and place over medium-high heat.
4. Add the onions, peppers, and celery and slowly sauté, until the vegetables are translucent.
5. Dip tomatoes in hot water for one minute to peel them. Seed them and chop the meats.
6. Stir in the tomato meats, sugar*, salt, peppers, herbs and enough shrimp stock to cover.
7. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer for at least 20 minutes, stirring often to prevent sticking.
8. Adjust the moisture by adding the tomato sauce. The tomatoes will create a varying amount of liquid, so adjustments of heat and/or liquid are required to prevent the sauce drying out or becoming watery. A good sauce is thick with the onions and peppers being soft but not mushy.
9. To this Creole sauce add the shrimp and cook until the shrimp turns pink, about 5 minutes. Stir in the green onions and parsley and let cook for 1 minute more.
10. Serve over rice.
11. *Note: The sugar is not meant to sweeten the sauce but acts as a flavor enhancer in the fresh tomato portion of the sauce.
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