Shrimp Creole
Shrimp Creole is a richly seasoned tomato-based seafood dish that is simply elegant, delicious and quick to prepare. I have made it with a roux and without a roux; and both are delicious, the roux creates a thicker sauce. I love the sauce that remains after all the shrimp are gone, which can be eaten with the rice or wiped up with a piece of French bread.
My recollection of shrimp has not always been elegant. Every shrimping season my mom would contact the “shrimp man” to buy some shrimp. He would come right off the boat and come to our house with a very large ice chest full of freshly caught shrimp. Our ice chests would be ready with ice outside and the square plastic containers stacked in the kitchen. Mom usually placed an order for about 75 pounds of fresh shrimp.
Newspapers would be laid on the table and a metal pie pan would be placed in front of me and my sister. Mom or Dad would scoop a large amount of shrimp from the ice chest, put it on the newspaper and we would begin to de-head the shrimp, all 75 pounds of them. They were cold and slippery and the antennae was often longer than the shrimp itself. You had to be careful not to stick yourself with the rostrum on top of its head. We often found little crabs in the shrimp harvest. Mom would take the batch we peeled and rinse them several times in both sides of the sink. Then a couple handfuls of shrimp and some water would be placed in each container and closed with its tight lid. There were also a few smaller containers for future dishes that needed some shrimp, such as stuffed peppers. This treasure from the Gulf (of Mexico) was then placed in stacks in the large upright (extra) freezer. It was vital to have another freezer in the house to store the seafood, and have shrimp available any time. The frozen shrimp was then defrosted, and the shrimp had to be peeled and deveined. The reward for our work was a fried shrimp po-boy (sandwich) on crusty French bread.
INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup chopped green onions
- 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
- 1/2 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
- 1 can tomato sauce
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 2 pounds Gulf Shrimp (peeled & de-veined) -medium size 41/50
- 2 cups seafood stock
- Dash of Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1/4 teaspoon basil
- 1/4 teaspoon thyme
- Parsley
- Salt and pepper
- Creole Seasoning (Paul Prudhomme’s Shrimp Magic Seasoning®)
PREPARATION
Peel and de-vein the shrimp and rinse it well.
Sprinkle the cleaned shrimp with Paul Prudhomme’s Shrimp Magic Seasoning® and set aside in the fridge.
In a heavy and de-vein the shrimp and rinse it well.
Sprinkle the cleaned shrimp with Paul Prudhomme’s Shrimp Magic Seasoning® and set aside in the fridge.
In a heavy gauge pot create a roux by heating flour and oil and stirring constantly until it thickens and turns light brown. This will take several minutes. Add diced onions, celery and bell peppers and sauté about 5 minutes or until they are tender and a little brown. Stir the vegetables and roux constantly and scraping the pan bottom well.
Add the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes and stir well.
Then add creole seasoning, garlic, basil, thyme and parsley.
Continue to stir a little longer, then gradually add the seafood stock to the sauce. Note that the sauce will cook down to a rich sauce.
Simmer over low to medium heat for about 20 minutes. Add the peeled and de-veined shrimp. Cook until shrimp are pink. Add additional Creole Seasoning to taste.
Serve over hot white rice with crusty French bread. Magnifique!
Enjoy Keeping It Creole!
Shrimp Creole
Ingredients
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup finely chopped green onions
- ½ cup finely chopped green bell pepper
- 1 [15 oz] can tomato sauce
- 1 [15 oz] can diced tomatoes
- 2 pounds Gulf Shrimp – medium size 41-50 cleaned and deveined
- 2 cups seafood stock
- dash Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 tbsp minced fresh garlic
- ¼ tsp dried thyme
- ¼ tsp dried basil
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black peper
- 1 tbsp Paul Prudhomme's Shrimp Magic Seasoning® divided- ½ on the cleaned shrimp and ½ for the sauce
Instructions
- Peel and de-vein shrimp, sprinkle Creole Seasoning and set aside in the fridge.
- In a heavy gauge pot create a roux by heating oil and add flour. Stir it constantly until it thickens and turns light brown paper bag color. This will take several minutes.
- Add diced onions, celery and bell peppers and sauté about 5minutes or until they are tender and a little brown. Stir the vegetables and roux constantly and scraping the pan bottom well.
- Add the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes and stir well.Then add creole seasoning, garlic, basil, thyme and parsley.
- Continue to stir a little longer, then gradually add the seafood stock to reach the desired consistency and amount of sauce.
- Simmer over low to medium heat for about 20 minutes. Add the peeled and de-veined shrimp. Cook until shrimp are pink. Add additional Creole Seasoning to taste.
- Serve over hot white rice with crusty French bread. Magnifique!