Shrimp Creole

Shrimp Creole

 Active Time N/ATotal  Time 45 MIN Yield Serves : 4 EMERIL LAGASSE August 2018

In 2018, Food & Wine named this recipe one of our 40 best: Before he was a television food mega-star, Emeril Lagasse made a name for himself as the chef at the legendary Commander’s Palace in New Orleans, arguably the city’s best restaurant at the time. Lagasse was a master of “haute Creole” cooking, a complex blend of Creole and Cajun with signature dishes such as baked redfish en papillote and bread pudding soufflé. (The soufflé is still on the Commander’s Palace menu today.) On a visit to New York City in 1984, Lagasse visited the F&W test kitchen and shared several recipes, including his shrimp Creole, a dish that stands proudly on its own when served over steamed rice, but which Lagasse used as an accompaniment to chicken-and-shrimp jambalaya. The spicy Creole sauce has layers of flavor built on a foundation of the Cajun flavor trinity— onion, celery, and green bell pepper—mixed with garlic and sautéed in butter until tender. The Creole sauce can be made through step 4 and chilled for up to 4 days, or can be frozen for up to a month.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped 
• 1 medium green bell pepper, chopped 
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped 
• 1 1/4 cups chicken stock or canned chicken broth 
• 4 teaspoons Creole Seafood Seasoning or more to taste, divided 
• 1 teaspoon hot paprika 
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper 
• 4 fresh bay leaves 
• 2 cups coarsely chopped tomatoes 
• 3 scallions, chopped 
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 
• 1 teaspoon Louisiana-style hot sauce (such as Crystal)  
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 
• 1 1/2 pounds peeled and deveined raw medium shrimp

How to Make It

Step 1    

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high. Add onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened but not browned, 5 to 7 minutes.

Step 2    

Add chicken stock, 2 teaspoons Creole seasoning, paprika, cayenne, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil over high; reduce heat to medium, and simmer until slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes.

Step 3    

Stir in scallions, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and salt; cook, stirring often, until thick but still a little saucy, about 10 minutes. Set aside Creole sauce.

Step 4    

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high; swirl to coat. Add shrimp; sprinkle with remaining 2 teaspoons Creole seasoning (or to taste), and cook, stirring often, until slightly pink, about 1 minute.

Step 5    

Add Creole sauce to shrimp; cook, stirring, until shrimp are pink, cooked through, and coated in sauce, 3 to 4 minutes.