February 16th, 2010

Shrimp Creole…Cajun…Fat Tuesday…Recipe…Delaware Beaches…Ocean City, MD…Delray Beach, FL…

It does not matter where you find yourselves, either at the beaches, the mountains or on the bayou, but you have to admit that Carnival is that special time of the year where a celebration is needed. And, Fat Tuesday is definitely a celebration.

Mardi Gras or Carnival are the celebrations that start on or just after the Epiphany and end on Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras is the French for Fat Tuesday; it is the last night of eating richer and fatty foods before fasting during Lent. In English the name is Shrove Tuesday; confession before Lent begins.

In celebration of Fat Tuesday, my menu tonight will be Shrimp Creole with white rice and spinach salad.

My family loves this recipe. I first had it at my old neighbors’ house in Bethany Beach many years ago, the Rooneys. She had been married to a Cajun and had perfected this type of cooking, with heat and strong flavors being the main ingredients.

My Shrimp recipe is from the book by Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Louisiana Kitchen. He elevated Louisiana cooking to an international level. He opened his K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen restaurant in the late 70’s. The recipe serves 10 but you can adjusted to half that amount, but I never do since leftovers are so good. I think the flavor just gets better. The other thing you might want to do is substitute some of the fats for leaner fats like olive oil; don’t change the butter, it really adds to it by enriching the flavor of the dish.

Shrimp Creole (a lot of ingredients but don’t be intimidated; it will be easy)

3 1/2 lbs. medium shrimp (I buy the easy to peel shrimp)

2 1/2 cups Basic Shrimp Stock (see below)

1/4 cup chicken, fat, pork lard or beef fat (substitute olive oil)

2 1/2 cups finely chopped onions

1 3/4 cup finely chopped celery

1 1/2 cups finely chopped green bell peppers

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 bay leaf

2 teaspoons salt (you can adjust this portion)

1 1/2 teaspoons white pepper

1 teaspoon ground red pepper (preferably cayenne)

3/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons Tabasco sauce

1 tablespoon dried thyme leaves

1 1/2 teaspoons dried sweet basil leaves

3 cups finely chopped tomatoes (this time of the year use canned)

1 1/2 cups tomato sauce

2 teaspoons sugar

For an easy and flavorful stock: Peel the shrimp and put shells in a large saucepan. Set shrimp aside. Add enough chicken broth to make 2 1/2 cups. Cut an onion in half and add it without peeling it. Add a few celery ribs and a bay leaf. Cover and cook on medium heat for about 15 minutes then turn it off and let it just sit there while you prepare the rest of the recipe. Drain, reserve stock when ready to use.

Heat the fat or other fat over high heat. I really substitute that fat in the recipe for olive oil and then as an extra I add a little bit of sausage and let it crumbled up in the olive oil. Probaly just about 2 tablespoons.

Once the fat is heated, then add 1 cup of the onions and cook over high heat for about 3 minutes, stirring frequently. The onions should take a rich brown color, but don’t burn them.

Add the remaining onions, the celelry, bell peppers and butter. Cook over medium high heat until the pepper and the celery start to get tender. Stir.

Then, add garlic, bay leaf, salt and peppers; stir well.

Now, add the Tabasco, thyme, basil and 1/2 cup of the stock. Cook over medium heat. What you are trying to do is marry these seasonings and at the same have the veggies brown further.

Add the tomatoes, then turn the burner to low and cook for 10 minutes, stirring and scrapping the bottom.

Add tomato sauce and stir for a few minutes and then add the remaining 2 cups of stock and sugar. Continue to simmer for about 10 minutes.

The perfect way to cook the shrimp for this dish is to add them now, turn the heat off and let the shrimp stay there until plump and pink. It will take only about 5 to 10 minutes because the sauce is so hot.

Serve it over rice and a side spinach salad.

Note: This dish is perfect for a party, granting you don’t have a guest with a seafood allergy. You can assemble it up to the point before adding the shrimp. Just put it in the refrigerator and the next day heat it and then add the shrimp just as I mentioned above.

This recipe is not hard. You just have to chop and add here and there. Once you make it and adjust it to your taste, you will love it. You want less heat then do so by adjusting the peppers.

Happy Fat Tuesday!!! Talk to you later…..

Tags: Delaware Beaches, Delray Beach, Florida, Maryland, Ocean City, Recipe, Recipes, seafood, Shrimp Creole

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