3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons Creole seasoning
1/4 cup flour
2 clove garlic, minced
1 onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
2 habanero peppers, minced
1 1/2 cup lobster or shrimp stock
2 teaspoons hot sauce
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 large tomato, diced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 pound shrimp
2 tablespoon minced Italian parsley
1/2 cup diced green onion
cooked white rice to serve
Directions:
Place the butter, Creole seasoning, and flour in a skillet. Cook 1 minute, stirring twice. Add the garlic, onion, celery, and habanero. Sauté until the mixture is golden. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Add the hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, tomato, and thyme. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture has thickened. Add the shrimp, parsley, and green onion. Stir. Cook 5-10 minutes or until the shrimp is fully cooked. Serve over rice.
My thoughts:
I can’t believe I haven’t shared my recipe for étouffée until today! I searched my archives like five times before accepting that I haven’t posted it before. That is just wrong. My étouffée rocks. Traditionally it is made with the holy trinity of Cajun cuisine: onions, celery and bell pepper but I find bell peppers insipid so I use habanero peppers instead. Their fruity hotness really adds a ton of flavor and takes the whole dish to a new level of awesomeness. I also simplified the roux process a bit so it is nearly foolproof but still has the nutty, rich flavor only roux can provide. No one could tell the difference between an étouffée made the traditional way and one made using my quick and dirty method. The trick is making sure the flour gets good and golden during the vegetable sauteing set. So don’t fear the roux! It is what gives the étouffée its signature creaminess and depth of flavor.
It is pretty hot, if you are wimpy about spice, halve the amount of habaneros I call for or use jalapenos instead but don’t sub bell peppers, they are way too bland to be a part of my hot n’ spicy étouffée.
Looks yummy….and I am far from a spice wimp (Grumpy's more of one!) I am bookmarking, I am always looking for more shrimp recipes to try!
Heart be still! Where has this been all my life? I am going to seek out some good shrimp immediately, because this looks like the perfect etoufee. Hell, I can't even imagine myself tinkering with the recipe, and that's saying a lot. Thank you!
OK, that's WAAAY easier than the one I've made before. Definitely bookmarking this. My husband might want to kiss you after he finds out that we can have spicy etoufee pretty much any time. 😉
Hi,
Did you use the seeds from the habanero pepper? Do you have a good shrimp stock recipe that you can share? I am so excited to find a Baltimore-based food blog!
Hi Carrie-
With or without seeds is fine. I generally leave them out because they get stuck in my teeth but that is just me. As for the shrimp stock, I do basically the same thing as I do with the lobster stock I linked to but with shrimp shells.
Thanks for visiting!
Hi Rachel- I made this last night, it was lovely. Thanks a million, I never know what to do with celery. Seeing as you're quite the Cajun and Mex cooking expert, I wonder could you post Chile Rellenos recipe? There are so many different stuffings possible, but I'd love to see how you do it!
Thanks Anon.
I've posted a stuffed chile recipe before and have a grilled chile recipe lined up for the summer but haven't made Chile Rellenos yet. Thanks for the suggestion! I will work on that as soon as my store gets the really big peppers back in. Thanks for visiting and I am glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Rachel, I guess you'll have to count me in the wimp category. Maybe I can use Serranos instead. Great recipe, though. Shrimp shells make great stock for soups and sauces.
My kids and grandkids will love this one. Thanks so much for sharing.
Hey Rachel,
Looks like a really nice dish. CAn I just ask why you make a roux before adding the onions and other ingredients ? Normally when I'm cooking I do things the other way around, sauteing the onions in oil/butter and then adding flour and finally adding the liquid.
Thanks
James
James
Because you want the flour to brown not just thicken the sauce. If the onions were cooked first that wouldn't happen.
Thanks Rachel. Do you find that the roux is quite thick and could burn? Or get stuck ?
No
That shrimp etouffee looks so good!
We love shrimp etouffee, and now that we're moving back to Kentucky where Cajun food is impossible to find, I will definitely be cooking this.