creole food – A cook named Rebecca

This Shrimp Creole is a little different than others because it doesn’t start with a roux and it is made with really ripe fresh tomatoes ripened on the vines. It’s a little spicy and sweet loaded with fresh herbs. I used San Marzano tomatoes because that’s what I had that was really ripe and I needed to use them, but you can pretty much use any tomato. I will say that San Marzano tomatoes are sweet which go perfectly with the sweet shrimp. A Brandywine tomato or other heirloom tomatoes would be excellent!

With still getting so many tomatoes from my garden, this is another great dish using them. What’s better than vine ripened tomatoes?

This recipe starts with the Creole or Cajun holy trinity, or onions, celery and bell peppers, with an addition of lemongrass. You can get lemongrass in the produce market or in Asian markets and even comes in a dried powder form. If you’re not familiar with lemongrass, here’s a link to explain: https://www.thespruceeats.com/all-about-lemongrass-2216499

Love This Fresh Tomato Shrimp Creole with Louisiana White Rice

This recipe will feed 6 to 8 with the 5 pounds of shrimp, but you can easily adjust for your purposes.

I hope you try this recipe! It’s easy and delicious! If you love New Orleans food as much as I do here’s another recipe I think you’ll enjoy: https://the2spoons.com/delicious-louisiana-seafood-gumbo/. This Louisiana Seafood Gumbo is equally delicious!

Shrimp Creole

Print Recipe

Course: Appetizer, dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: creole

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

5 lbs jumbo Louisiana or wild American shrimp, peeled and deveined
salt
fresh ground pepper
1 tbsp minced fresh lemongrass (substitute 1 tsp powdered or 1 tsp lime juice
1/2 cup olive oil
3 mediuim onions, diced
10 garlic cloves thinly sliced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 bell pepper, red, green or yellow seeded and diced
5 pounds overripe tomatoes or other tomatoes peeled and chopped (Brandywine or other heirloom would be good if you can find)
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1 tbsp crushed red pepper flakes
leaves from 2 branches fresh basil, torn
pinch of sugar
6-8 cups Louisiana White Rice

For the Louisiana White Rice (for 8 cups)

2 tbsp chicken fat, extra virgin olive oil, or butter
1 medium onion, minced
3 cups long grain white rice
6 cups chicken stock (homemade if possible, otherwise a good brand)
2 bay leaves
1 tsp salt

Method

Put the shrimp into a large bowl, season with salt and pepper, then mix in the lemongrass. Heat ¼ cup of the oil in a large deep skillet over moderate heat. Add the shrimp, stirring and tossing them with a spatula. Sauté until they turn pink, about 2 minutes. Remove the shrimp from the pan and set aside while you make the sauce. Into the same skillet with the oil and shrimp juices, put the remaining ¼ cup oil and the onions, garlic, celery, and bell peppers and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, for about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and when the sauce comes to a simmer add the bay leaf, allspice, and red pepper flakes. Simmer for 10 minutes .Add the shrimp back to the skillet along with the basil and mint. Cook for a minute or two. Season with salt and pepper. If the sauce tastes too tart, add a little sugar to balance the flavor. Remove the bay leaf. Serve over steamed Louisiana white rice.

For the Louisiana White Rice (for 8 cups)

Put the fat, oil, or butter and the onions into a medium saucepan and sweat the onions over moderate heat until they are translucent, about 5 minutes. Pour the rice into the pan and stir for 2 minutes. Then add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add the bay leaf and salt.
Cover the pan with a lid, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 18 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, fluff the rice with a fork, and serve.

Notes

You can fourth, half or just adjust this recipe to the amount you need. Same with the rice.