Wednesday, May 07, 2008

SHRIMP CREOLE

My favorite New Orleans dish is Shrimp Creole. I get it at least once every time we're in the city and on our first trip there I was on a mission to find the "perfect" Shrimp Creole recipe. A great cookbook called The New Orleans Cookbook by Rima and Richard Collin is the one that kept popping up when I asked the locals for a recommendation. I have had this cookbook for 14 years and have cooked several dishes from it. My favorite is of course the Shrimp Creole dish but there are many others that are delectable as well...If you decide to try this dish, don't let the long list of ingredients put you off. The key to this dish is to chop everything in advance and then it's a breeze and so worth the effort. I made a batch Saturday Night. You can see the end result in the picture below....

"Shrimp Creole piquante was the original version of shrimp creole. Firm shrimp, plenty of whole tomatoes, lots of pepper-a far cry from the bland, soggy restaurant dish served all over America. This is a really spicy CAJUN ( not CREOLE) dish."
Sauce Piquante
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup flour
1 3/4 c. thinly sliced shallots( scallions)
1/3 cup chopped celery
1 c. chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
4 tsp. finely minced garlic
3 Tbs. finely minced fresh parsley
1 one-lb can Italian style whole peeled tomatoes, drained
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 Tbs. minced chives
4 Tbs. dry red wine
4 whole bay leaves, crushed
6 whole allspice
2 whole cloves
2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. Cayenne
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. mace
1/4 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
4 tsp. fresh lemon juice
2 cups water
2 lb. whole fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined
Boiled Rice

In a heavy 6-8 quart pot or kettle ( I usually use my black pot/ Cast Iron Dutch oven), heat the oil and gradually add the flour, stirring constantly. Cook over low heat, stirring contantly, until a medium brown roux( the color of rich peanut butter) is formed. Remove from heat and add the fresh vegetables and parsley. Mix well with the roux, then return to low heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the vegetables begin to brown. Mix in the canned tomatoes and tomato sauce, then add the chives, seasonings, wine, and lemon juice and mix again.

Raise heat under the pan and bring to a low boil. Add the water and mix thoroughly. When mixture begins to boil up again, reduce the heat and simmer 45 minutes. Add shrimp and allow to come to a boil again, then cover, reduce the heat slightly, and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove the pot from burner and allow to stand, covered, at room temperature for about 10 minutes before serving. Serve over boiled rice.

9 comments:

Betsy Brock said...

This looks like something we would like! I don't think I've ever had it! And it does look fairly easy after all the chopping is done!
It looks especially nice on your Blue Willow plate! And I must say that your cat Shadow is beautiful!

Tess Kincaid said...

That looks absolutely delicious! I haven't made it in ages. It was one of the very first "fancy" dishes that I made when we were first married. Ahh..memories.

I am loving this New Orleans phase you started. Fun!

Lovely Blue Willow plate, BTW. :)

Lavinia said...

I'm thrilled...I have everything on hand except for the mace, minced chives, green peppers, shrimps, and scallions.....I have never tried Creole anything, but have always wanted to...and know instinctively that I will love it...

Thanks for this recipe, Rebecca; I will let you know how it turns out.

By the way, I love the new pics of your cat...she is lovely! But are there one or two different cats in the sidebar photos? One looks like a long-haired grey, and the other a short haird black..

Rebecca said...

Betsy, it really is easy and so full of flavor. I read that the secret to New Orleans cooking is that all the flavors are layered instead of just being "hot" they are spicy in a good way.

My cat, Shadow, is a big baby and such a sweet cat. He's a big furball.

Rebecca said...

Willow, I thought you might like the plate...Blue willow makes most anything look good, don't you think? :-)....

The New Orleans posts are so much fun...I love that you posted about "Madame X" and Deedee's post about beignets and Cafe` au lait at Cafe' Dumonde. You know, the tourism commission should give us free air fair there for all the promoting we're doing. :-D

Rebecca said...

Lavinia, let me know how it turns out for you. I'd say you will really like this cuisine...

There are two different cats. The Black one is our old boy named Magic and the Grey long-hair is Shadow. He's an angel. We also have a 13 year old Sheltie that I need to post pictures of. She's an absolute sweetheart but the poor thing has really slowed this last year...

G said...

Sounds delicious and I have never made any form of Creole OR Cajun dish, but now I shall.:)

Tess Kincaid said...

Yes, food always looks absolutely wonderful on blue willow plates...the blue just sets off the food perfectly. Something very comforting about eating from blue willow!

Dorothy said...

Betsy...that looks amazing..I agree with Willow...serving on that blue willow plate is just lovely...

Now that we all practically have cajun accents, after all this New Orleans posting, I'm going to prepare this for sure...Set some mood music and dine on the lanai...:)