One of the things I miss about living in the south is shrimp. Shrimp Creole, Shrimp Po Boys, Shrimp Bisque, Shrimp and Grits and Shrimp Etouffe. I sound like Bubba from Forrest Gump, don't I? I do not deny that shrimp is a favorite of my husband and all by boys as well. Thank goodness there are no shellfish allergies here! This recipe is a Paula Deen recipe and I have never used another etoufee recipe. When we moved up north I wanted this dish for dinner one night and searched the web and found this one on Food Network. I was a bit nervous working with a roux, because I knew it might be a challenge with kids running in and out of the kitchen. I was scared I would have to leave it for a bit and it would burn. All I can say is, thank goodness for How to Train your Dragon! Kept the kids occupied and I made a perfect roux. The recipe is not difficult, just a bit time consuming. I did use dehydrated organic green pepper and used a pinch of celery seed in place of the celery. I was out of both and did not want to take the kids with me to the store. Two full days of a sugar high + grocery shopping = disaster. So I improvised. I think everyone actually liked the dehydrated veggies better. It made the sauce smoother and there were no crunchy celery pieces or green pepper to pick out. (which doesn't matter in the long run because they have to eat them, crunchy or not ) . Stay tuned in the coming weeks for my recipe for shrimp bisque. I promise, it is worth the wait!
Shrimp Etoufee
courtesy of Paula Deen
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup oil
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, plus extra flour, optional
- 1 cup chopped yellow onion
- 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, more if desired
- 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
- 1/2 cup minced green onions, plus extra for garnish
- 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley leaves
- 2 to 3 dashes hot sauce (recommended: Tabasco)
- 1 (8-ounce) can clam juice
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes (recommended: Ro'tel)
- Salt (Cajun seasoning has salt already)
- 2 pounds small or medium shrimp peeled and deveined (recommended: (31/35 size count)
- 1/2 stick butter
- Rice, optional
- Diced green onions, for garnish
Directions
Note: To make roux, use oil instead of butter, because butter burns
Make the roux, mix oil and flour in a large heavy saucepan over low heat. Whisk flour into the oil to form a paste.
Continue cooking over low heat and whisk continuously, until the mixture turns a caramel color and gives off a nutty aroma, about 15 to 20 minutes.
To the roux, add the onion, green pepper, celery, and garlic and cook over low heat about 5 minutes, until the vegetables are limp.
Add the black pepper, white pepper, cayenne pepper, Cajun seasoning, green onions, parsley, and hot sauce to taste.
Add 1 can clam juice and the tomatoes with their juice, stir to blend. Add the salt, starting with 1 teaspoon, then add more if needed.
Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Add shrimp and stir. It will take about 3 minutes for shrimp to cook, don't overcook. Remove from heat.
Add the butter and stir; the heat from the dish will melt the butter
. Transfer the etouffee to a tureen, serving bowl, or if you prefer, over rice. Garnish with the green onions.
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