I can’t get near Mardi Gras season without whipping up several Louisiana-inspired meals. Sure, I make gumbowith a roux, slow cooked red beans and rice, fabulous party food like savory crawfish king cake or crab remoulade cheesecake and desserts like tarte a la bouille and king cake bars. But it’s nice to have a simple, weeknight Mardi Gras dish to turn to. Enter Smothered Shrimp – packed with flavor and spice but a cinch to put together and cook. I serve this over a rice studded with green onions for an extra layer of flavor, but plain ol’ rice is just as good.
This dish is even quicker if you use pre-diced onion, pepper and celery and I am fine with that. Around here, at Mardi Gras time, groceries often sell the pre-diced “trinity” together in a container, or I find frozen “Cajun mirepoix” so I can do this at any time. I use a can of diced tomatoes and a separate small can of green chiles to get an assertive chili flavor. To me the canned combined version doesn’t provide enough chili. And you could absolutely use frozen crawfish tails for this.
Ingredients
- For the Shrimp
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (4 ounce can) diced green chiles, mild or hot
1 yellow onion, finely diced (a little over 2 cups)
1 green bell pepper, finely diced (about 1 cup)
3 celery sticks, finely diced (about 1 cup)
6 cloves of garlic, put through a press or finely minced
1 cup of beer (or water)
2 pounds peeled, deveined large shrimp
½ cup minced fresh parsley
4 green onion tops, finely minced
- For the Rice
2 cups long grain white rice
4 green onions, white and light green parts, finely minced
1 cup chicken broth
5 cups water
Salt
Directions
- For the Shrimp
- Put the tomatoes and green chiles in a blender and blend until smooth. Heat the butter and olive oil in a large, deep skillet with a lid over medium high heat, then add the onion, green pepper and celery. Cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are soft and glassy and beginning to brown. Add the garlic and cook for a further minute. Pour in the tomato mixture and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a spatula. Add the beer, stir well and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover the pan and simmer for 30 minutes until thickened and rich. Add the shrimp, the chopped green onions and parsley, stir well and cover the pan. Cook for 10 – 15 minutes until the shrimp are cooked through, pink and curled. Serve over rice.
- For the Rice
- Put the rice and the green onions in a pot with a lid. Pour in the broth and water and a very generous amount of salt. Bring to a boil and cook until the water is mostly absorbed and there are little air vents opening on the surface of the rice. Remove from the heat and cover the pot. Leave for 15 minutes, then fluff with a fork.
I love this easy recipe!
I’m adding it to my list for this week.
Thanks Perre