Simply Delicious!
This is a recipe straight out of Louisiana
given to me from a friend who was born and raised there!
2 LBS SHRIMP – medium, heads and tails on | 1 ½ STICKS BUTTER – total |
1/3 CUP GREEN ONIONS – finely chopped | PINCH OF SALT – to taste |
PINCH OF CAYENNE – to taste | ½ TSP GARLIC – minced or more to taste |
PINCH OF WHITE PEPPER – to taste | 1/3 CUP BASIL LEAVES – torn |
PINCH OF THYME ½ LB MUSHROOMS – cut ¼-inch slices FISH STOCK – homemade or store bought | PINCH DRIED OREGANO COOKED WHITE RICE |
Rinse and peel the shrimp, leaving the heads on and reserving the shells to make stock. Refrigerate shrimp until needed.
In a large heavy-duty skillet melt 1 stick of the butter over high heat and add the green onions, salt, garlic, white pepper, cayenne, basil, thyme and oregano; stir until well blended. Add the shrimp and sauté just until they turn pink – 1-2 minutes, shaking the pan back and forth as they cook (shaking rather than stirring allows the sauce to not separate and get oily. This, I was told, is a Louisianian technique.). Add the mushrooms and ¼ cup of stock as well as the remainder of the butter and let cook for a few minutes continuing to shake the pan back and forth.
Before the butter has completely melted add the parsley and the remaining 2 tablespoons of stock and continue cooking and shaking until all ingredients are completely combined and the sauce in the pan seems like the consistency of cream.
Serve immediately over a bowl of hot cooked white rice with some crusty Italian ready to sop up any extra juices.
NOTE: You can make a quart of stock by combining an onion, quartered, 2 garlic cloves, a celery rib and the shrimp shells in 1 ½ quarts of water, seasoned with salt, pepper and optionally a pinch of All-spice, for a minimum of 3-4 hours and upwards to 7 or 8. First bring to slow boil, then simmer for the remainder of the time, replenishing the liquid as needed to keep a minimum of 1 ¼ quarts of liquid in the pot at all times. When finished, strain, cool and refrigerate and you should have 1 to 1 ¼ quarts of rich broth. I confess that I buy stock because when I decide to make this dish I don’t have a window for 4-8 hours to make a good full-bodied stock. A good store-bought stock works well, too. Also, my family likes a little thicker sauce so I will add 2 teaspoons. of Wondra flour and mix that all in at the end as I do the final shaking.
BUON MANGIATA!
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