Shrimp Creole

By UncleDick

From Chef Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen

The homemade Stock and time prepping is worth it in the end!
(This is Creole spicy! If you cannot handle it, you can lighten the spice by cutting red, white and black pepper in half.)

Ingredients

• 2 Lbs, raw E-Z peel Shrimp
• 2 1/2 cup Basic Shrimp Stock***
• 1/4 Fat or Oil (can be: Chicken, Pork or Beef Fat) I( have used olive oil and bacon fat)
• 2 1/2 Cup diced onions
• 1 3/4 Cup chopped celery
• 1 1/2 cup diced bell pepper
• 4 T butter
• 2 t minced garlic
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 t salt
• 1 t cayenne
• 1 1/2 t white pepper
• 3/4 t black pepper
• 1 1/2 t Tobasco sauce
• 1 T dried thyme
• 1 1/2 t dried basil
• 3 cups peeled and chopped tomatoes (3 to 4)
• 1 1/2 Cup canned tomato sauce
• 2 t sugar
• 5 cups cooked rice
• Make Stock with Shrimp Shells, 5 cups of water,onion ends and pieces, celery leaves and ends, and bell pepper pieces, season with salt and pepper, strain and save for the Shrimp Creole and the rest for cooking the rice!***

Preparation

Step 1

Peel and rinse shrimp and save shells for stock***
Heat fat or oil
Add 1 cup onions and cook high 3 min.
Lower heat and cook 5 min more stirring frequently
Add remaining onions, celery, bell peppers and butter.
Cook on high till bell peppers and celery start to get tender about 5 min,Stirring frequently.
Add garlic, bay leaf, salt and peppers, thyme, basil, Tobasco, chopped Tomatoes and 1/2 cup stock
Cook 5 min to allow seasonings to marry, stirring frequently
Add Tomato sauce, cook 5 min
Add stock and sugar and simmer for 15 min stirring occasionaly.

You can cool and refridgerate sauce now and save for next day, or if serving immediatly turn off heat, add shrimp and cover and let sit till shrimp are firm and pink. (5 to 10 min.)

To serve: Put rice in mound in center of plate and add about 1 cup of Shrimp Creole around the mound of rice. Goes well with French Bread and Red Wine or glass of Beer!