YOUR AD HERE »

Tahoe recipe: Mix it up by making shrimp etouffée

Arica Davis
Special to the Sun-Bonanza
Get a taste of the Cajun south with this dish.
Courtesy Arica Davis |

Growing up in Louisiana, I was raised on Cajun cuisine, so it is something I crave often. Recently I’ve had a hankering for crawfish etouffée, a classic Cajun seafood dish.

Louisiana crawfish isn’t easy to find at Lake Tahoe, and I really needed to appease my craving, so I decided to make it with shrimp instead.

The rich sauce was comforting and delicious, and it reminded me a little bit of home. Treat your family and friends to a Louisiana style dinner this week and laissez les bon temps rouler!



Crawfish (shrimp) etouffée ingredients:

Makes 4-6 servings



5 tbs. butter

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 celery ribs, finely chopped

1 green bell pepper, finely chopped

2 green onions, chopped, plus more for garnish

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 tbs. parsley, chopped

1 can diced tomatoes in juice

1 tsp. salt

Pinch of cayenne pepper

Dash of Old Bay or Tony’s Chachere’s Cajun seasoning

2 cups seafood stock

4 tbs. flour

1 lb. shrimp, peel and deveined

3 cups of cooked rice

Directions:

Heat the butter in a large sauce pan over medium heat, until it melts. Add in the onions, celery and bell pepper and cook for 5 minutes. Next add in the green onions, garlic, parsley, tomatoes and seasoning, cook for a 2 more minutes.

Mix flour into 1/4 cup of the seafood stock until smooth then add it along with the rest of the broth to the pot and bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer, stirring frequently.

Once the sauce thickens* and starts to reduce add in the shrimp, cover and cook for 5 minutes on medium/low heat. Taste the dish and add more seasoning as needed. Once the shrimp has cooked and sauce has thickened it is ready to enjoy. Serve warm over rice, garnish with paprika and sliced green onions.

*If the sauce isn’t thickening, scoop out a little of the liquid from the pot and mix in one tablespoon of flour until smooth. Bring to a quick boil then simmer until thickens. Repeat if needed.

Chef Arica Davis is owner/operator of Yummy Fixins, Personal Chef Services and Pasta Parties and a food columnist for the Tahoe Daily Tribune. Visit http://www.yummyfixins.com or call 530-539-4504 to book your next dinner party.


Support Local Journalism

 

Support Local Journalism

Readers around Lake Tahoe, Truckee, and beyond make the Sierra Sun's work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.

Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.

Your donation will help us continue to cover COVID-19 and our other vital local news.