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Shrimp Creole
WHAT YOU WILL NEED
4 large tomatoes
2 tablespoons salted butter
1 stalk celery, chopped (about ½ cup)
1 cup diced green bell pepper (about 1 small)
1½ cups diced yellow onion (about 1 large)
¼ cup tomato paste
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons Rouses salt
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (or more to taste)
1 teaspoon paprika
3 cups seafood stock
6 dozen 21-25 count wild-caught Louisiana shrimp
3 cups steamed white or brown rice
¼ cup chopped parsley for garnish
HOW TO PREP
Bring 1 quart of water to boil in a medium saucepan. Blanch the
tomatoes in the water about 1 minute, just until the skin breaks.
Remove the tomatoes from the water and pull off the skin. Seed and
dice the tomatoes then set them aside.
Melt the butter in a large pot over high heat. Add the celery, bell pepper,
onion and tomato and sauté for 7 to 10 minutes until the tomato is
nearly dissolved and the vegetables begin to caramelize. Reduce the
heat to medium and add the tomato paste, bay leaf, salt, cayenne
pepper, and paprika. Allow the mixture to simmer for an additional
3 to 4 minutes until the vegetables are a rich caramel color. Add the
shrimp stock and reduce the mixture at a low rolling boil over medium
heat for 25 minutes. Add the shrimp and simmer for an additional 10
minutes until the shrimp are pink and cooked through.
Place a ½ cup of steamed rice in the center of 6 large rimmed soup
plates. Surround the rice with the shrimp and spoon all of the additional
sauce over the shrimp. Garnish with chopped parsley. Serve at once.
(Serves 6)
more RECIPES
B rown shrimp season opens in May, and I’m
craving boiled shrimp. Our seafood experts
use local brown shrimp when they boil (by
the way, this is the only time of year you can get local
boiled crawfish, shrimp and crabs). We’ve been play-
ing with white shrimp in our Test Kitchen, looking
for new ways to present old favorites like shrimp
remoulade and guacamole.
Shrimp Creole is one of my longtime favorites. It’s
a great simmer dish – you can multi task while it’s
cooking. Whenever possible, I like to cook shrimp
with the shells on; you get more of the shrimp flavor,
and the shells help keep the shrimp moist (that’s espe-
cially important when you are boiling brown shrimp).
But when I’m making Shrimp Creole, I always use
peeled shrimp. It’s easier, and the stock adds plenty of
shrimp flavor. Whether you go with deveined shrimp
is mostly a matter of aesthetics. I happen to think
deveined shrimp just look better, and the process is
easy – just run the tip of a small knife down the back
of the shrimp then remove the vein.
—Chef Jack Treuting, Culinary Director
“We’renot the only oneswho thinkJackTreuting
is one of the best chefs around. In April, Jack
was named one of the Best Chefs in Louisiana
by the American Culinary Federation.”
—Donny Rouse