Shrimp etoufee

It was with two very heavy hearts that we watched Hurricane Katrina storm ashore on the Gulf Coast nearly three years ago. Much of Jerry’s family lived in the region, including his grandfather and two uncles in Louisiana; an aunt in Mississippi and another aunt in Alabama. It was nearly three days before we learned that everyone was safe, which was the most important thing. But PaPa and Uncle Robbie’s Lakeview home in New Orleans was destroyed.

Jerry has many fond memories of his annual childhood visits to the Big Easy, and we were lucky enough to share this magical city with our daughter Cera in June 2005, just weeks before Katrina hit. It was the first time we ourselves had been to the city in nearly eight years – a much different experience than our previous visit in our early 20s when it was all about the nightlife.

In addition to visiting with family, we tried to introduce a then-2-year-old Cera to as much of the history and culture of New Orleans as she could absorb. We took a carriage ride through the French Quarter, rode the historic carousel in City Park and strolled along the banks of the Mississippi River. In the open-air French Market, we bought Cera new children’s books about alligators and crawfish, and we watched with delight as she twirled to jazz music at a sidewalk cafe.

Then there was the food – beignets and Cafe Au Lait at Cafe Du Monde, muffulettas at Central Grocery Co., Sno-Balls at City Park, crawfish etoufee at a roadside eatery that we probably couldn’t find again if we tried. But the highlight was definitely the shrimp. We ate it fried, sauteed, boiled, served over rice and in gumbo. It was at times spicy, at other times golden brown and crunchy, but it was always good.

As New Orleans continues to pick up the pieces, we offer you a taste of the city with Jerry’s recipe for an easy shrimp etouffee. Hopefully someday soon, you’ll be able to experience the sights, sounds and flavors of this enchanting city for yourself.

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As with many regional dishes, etouffee features the “holy trinity” of Creole and Cajun cooking: chopped onion, celery and bell pepper. And while Jerry tried to control the heat of this dish with just a ½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper, feel free to add a little more if you like your shrimp extra spicy – in fact, we made our last batch with a full teaspoon, and it was wonderful.

Shrimp etouffee

2 pounds 26-30 count shrimp (ideally with heads on)

Shrimp stock:

4 cups water

Shrimp shells

3 tablespoons bacon grease

¼ cup flour

1 ½ cups onion (approximately 1 medium onion), chopped

¾ cups celery (approximately two stalks), chopped

¾ cups yellow, red, green or orange bell pepper (your choice, approximately 1 pepper), chopped

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon salt

Dash of pepper

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon hot sauce

1 teaspoon dried thyme, or 2 teaspoons fresh thyme

Hot, cooked rice

Peel and devein shrimp, reserving the shells, and put in refridgerator until ready to use.

To make shrimp stock, bring water to a boil. Add shrimp shells and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 45 minutes to an hour, bring careful not to allow the mixture to overboil. Drain and discard shells.

In a large skillet, make a roux by heating bacon grease over medium/high heat. Add flour, stirring constantly for approximately five minutes, until roux is the color of coffee with a bit of cream.

Add onion, celery, bell pepper, garlic, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, hot sauce and dried thyme and saute over medium heat, stirring occasionaly, for 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add ¾ of the shrimp stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for five minutes.

Add shrimp. Return to medium heat and cook until shrimp are pink, approximately eight to 10 minutes. Add remaining shrimp stock to reach your desired thickness (if you like your etoufee thick, it may not be necessary to add any additional stock).

Serve over hot, cooked rice.