Tonight I made some Louisiana style Shrimp Creole and wanted to share the recipe for anyone interested. I thought I’d also include a brief history of how Cajun and Creole cuisine got its roots…and the differences between the 2. Below is a few excerpts I took from an article written by Joshua Mcmeans for Global Foodways website………
Cajun cuisine, as a whole, is a variety of different cultures all thrown into one pot. The word “Cajun” is an evolution of the word “Acadian” which was a group of people, primarily from France, who immigrated to Acadia. Acadia comprises the Northeastern North America and what is now the Canadian Maritime Provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island.
There the Acadian’s survived off what the land would offer them and took what they could from the North Atlantic, including lobster, salmon, and cod. But when they refused to submit to the British Crown in 1755, the Acadians, around 14,000 of them, were deported out of Canada and they settled in what is now southern Louisiana.
One common, and highly likely, mistake that most people make about Cajun cuisine is the distinction between Creole and Cajun cuisines. The Creoles were French settlers of the French colonial Louisiana which consisted of people of the upper class. Like the Cajuns, the Creoles interacted with peoples of other cultures which helped create the cuisine that we know today. The Creoles were often seen as the aristocrats and considered themselves above the Cajuns regarding social hierarchy and as a culture.
Their dishes use more “exotic” ingredients with an abundance of spices, thanks to wealth and an abundance of time and resources. For example, you find tomatoes in Creole jambalaya and not in Cajun jambalaya, and their roux is often made with butter and flour while the Cajuns used oil and flour.
Cajun culture, even in today’s world, is best affiliated with the geography. As mentioned, the Cajuns fished the waterways of Louisiana providing the cuisine with its strong seafood influences. This was still apparent when the Acadians lived in Canada off of the Atlantic coast. Both cultures used what was provided for them from the land as well as the sea. These people were very self-sufficient as a community (encyclopedia.com).
Over the years, Cajun cuisine has been experimented with and popularized thanks to the ever-growing love for the culture by the American population. Everyone around the country often celebrates Mardi Gras and Fat Tuesday. New Orleans is the Louisiana hot spot for a mixture of Cajun, Creole, and French cultures. But the food is something that is beyond compare. Although the mass exodus of the Acadians from Canada was brutal, if it weren’t for their relocation we would not have these wonderful cuisines at the tips of our lips.
Here is my recipe for Shrimp Creole, which is very close to Paul Prudhomme’s from his cookbook.
Makes About 10 Normal Servings….or 5 Pit Member Servings
INGREDIENTS:
• 3 1/2 pounds large shrimp
• 1/4 cup of bacon fat or cooking oil
• 2 1/2 cups diced onions
• 1 1/2 cups diced celery
• 1 1/2 cups diced green bell pepper
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of basil
• 1 tablespoon of dried thyme leaves
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons white pepper
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 cups chopped peeled tomatoes (canned are ok)
• 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of Tabasco Sauce
• 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter
• 5 cups cooked long-grain white rice
• 1 cup diced green onion for garnish (optional)
* 2 1/2 cups in all, of shrimp stock
DIRECTIONS:
1. Remove the shells and heads from the shrimp.
2. To make the shrimp stock, add the heads and shells. along with any shrimp fat to a pot containing 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 1 hour minimum, preferably 4 hours. Strain the shrimp stock discarding the shells.
3. In a medium saucepan sautée the onions, bell pepper and celery in the bacon fat or oil until soft, about 10 minutes. Add the butter to this as well.
4. Add the garlic, bay leaf, salt and pepper spices and stir well. Cook over medium heat about 5 more minutes, stirring well. Then add the Tabasco, thyme, basil and 1/2 cup of the stock and cook for an additional 5 minutes with occasional stirring.
5. Add the tomatoes, turn heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes with more occasional stirring. Stir in the tomato sauce and simmer 5 more minutes.
6. Add the remaining 2 cups of stock and the sugar. Continue simmering for 15 minutes with occasional stirring. Add the shrimp and continue to simmer for 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat when shrimp are done.
7. Serve over a mound of white rice and garnish with green onion tops (optional) Serve with hot sauce on the side for an extra kick and with your favorite crusty bread.
NOTES: 1. If the amounts of pepper seem too much for your tastes, feel free to reduce the amounts slightly….but honestly I’ve used those full amounts and by the time it’s all blended in, my results were just right, a slight kick but not too hot.
2. Don’t worry about having to use heads on shrimp. I usually buy mine heads off and just use the shells for making my shrimp stock.
EDIT: After double checking for mistakes, I changed the celery amount from 2 cups to 1 1/2 cups.
THE CAJUN TRINITY - CELERY, BELL PEPPER AND ONION
Cajun cuisine, as a whole, is a variety of different cultures all thrown into one pot. The word “Cajun” is an evolution of the word “Acadian” which was a group of people, primarily from France, who immigrated to Acadia. Acadia comprises the Northeastern North America and what is now the Canadian Maritime Provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island.
There the Acadian’s survived off what the land would offer them and took what they could from the North Atlantic, including lobster, salmon, and cod. But when they refused to submit to the British Crown in 1755, the Acadians, around 14,000 of them, were deported out of Canada and they settled in what is now southern Louisiana.
One common, and highly likely, mistake that most people make about Cajun cuisine is the distinction between Creole and Cajun cuisines. The Creoles were French settlers of the French colonial Louisiana which consisted of people of the upper class. Like the Cajuns, the Creoles interacted with peoples of other cultures which helped create the cuisine that we know today. The Creoles were often seen as the aristocrats and considered themselves above the Cajuns regarding social hierarchy and as a culture.
Their dishes use more “exotic” ingredients with an abundance of spices, thanks to wealth and an abundance of time and resources. For example, you find tomatoes in Creole jambalaya and not in Cajun jambalaya, and their roux is often made with butter and flour while the Cajuns used oil and flour.
Cajun culture, even in today’s world, is best affiliated with the geography. As mentioned, the Cajuns fished the waterways of Louisiana providing the cuisine with its strong seafood influences. This was still apparent when the Acadians lived in Canada off of the Atlantic coast. Both cultures used what was provided for them from the land as well as the sea. These people were very self-sufficient as a community (encyclopedia.com).
Over the years, Cajun cuisine has been experimented with and popularized thanks to the ever-growing love for the culture by the American population. Everyone around the country often celebrates Mardi Gras and Fat Tuesday. New Orleans is the Louisiana hot spot for a mixture of Cajun, Creole, and French cultures. But the food is something that is beyond compare. Although the mass exodus of the Acadians from Canada was brutal, if it weren’t for their relocation we would not have these wonderful cuisines at the tips of our lips.
Here is my recipe for Shrimp Creole, which is very close to Paul Prudhomme’s from his cookbook.
Makes About 10 Normal Servings….or 5 Pit Member Servings
INGREDIENTS:
• 3 1/2 pounds large shrimp
• 1/4 cup of bacon fat or cooking oil
• 2 1/2 cups diced onions
• 1 1/2 cups diced celery
• 1 1/2 cups diced green bell pepper
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of basil
• 1 tablespoon of dried thyme leaves
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons white pepper
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 cups chopped peeled tomatoes (canned are ok)
• 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of Tabasco Sauce
• 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter
• 5 cups cooked long-grain white rice
• 1 cup diced green onion for garnish (optional)
* 2 1/2 cups in all, of shrimp stock
DIRECTIONS:
1. Remove the shells and heads from the shrimp.
2. To make the shrimp stock, add the heads and shells. along with any shrimp fat to a pot containing 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 1 hour minimum, preferably 4 hours. Strain the shrimp stock discarding the shells.
3. In a medium saucepan sautée the onions, bell pepper and celery in the bacon fat or oil until soft, about 10 minutes. Add the butter to this as well.
4. Add the garlic, bay leaf, salt and pepper spices and stir well. Cook over medium heat about 5 more minutes, stirring well. Then add the Tabasco, thyme, basil and 1/2 cup of the stock and cook for an additional 5 minutes with occasional stirring.
5. Add the tomatoes, turn heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes with more occasional stirring. Stir in the tomato sauce and simmer 5 more minutes.
6. Add the remaining 2 cups of stock and the sugar. Continue simmering for 15 minutes with occasional stirring. Add the shrimp and continue to simmer for 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat when shrimp are done.
7. Serve over a mound of white rice and garnish with green onion tops (optional) Serve with hot sauce on the side for an extra kick and with your favorite crusty bread.
NOTES: 1. If the amounts of pepper seem too much for your tastes, feel free to reduce the amounts slightly….but honestly I’ve used those full amounts and by the time it’s all blended in, my results were just right, a slight kick but not too hot.
2. Don’t worry about having to use heads on shrimp. I usually buy mine heads off and just use the shells for making my shrimp stock.
EDIT: After double checking for mistakes, I changed the celery amount from 2 cups to 1 1/2 cups.
THE CAJUN TRINITY - CELERY, BELL PEPPER AND ONION
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