I have a confession to make. I'm addicted to Instagram and Pinterest but who isn't these days?!A few years back, I decided to kick out my addiction to Facebook. And that I did. Honestly, I'm glad I did it. I decided to hid my true self away from prying eyes - with the exception of some good friends and of course, family. Now, I changed my handle from my real name to Sinful Organic Cook - this idea was given by my cousin btw, so all credit to her. I revamped my blog site and here I am today.
So the reason why I mentioned Pinterest was because it was how I found Half Baked Harvest. I browse through the site regularly and I'm pretty sure I made some of the recipes there too. However, none stuck to me as much as the Big Easy Style Creole Shrimp recipe.
You see, I've been obsessing about New Orleans lately. I'll be visiting the city in a few month's time (along with some others). I can't wait to go and have myself some Creole food and beignets and po'boys and Sazerac.
Until then, I'll try my best to make some in my own kitchen. So when I saw this recipe, I knew I had to make it. I dug into my stash of spices and guess what? I have both Creole seasoning and Cajun seasoning - thanks to my awesome aunt's previous care packages. It made my life so easy.
Now, let's make some New Orleans style grub!
Creole Shrimp
Adapted from Half Baked Harvest: Big Easy Style Creole Shrimp
Ingredients:
600g raw prawns, peeled and deveined
1 tbsp cajun seasoning
butter
4 small chorizo sausages (or 2 medium sized ones)
olive oil
2 tbsp all purpose flour
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1 can stewed whole tomatoes
1/2 cup white wine
2 tbsp Creole seasoning
1 tbsp smoked paprika
Steps:
Prepare the raw prawns: Place the prawns in a bowl and try with paper towels. Sprinkle the Cajun seasoning and coat the prawns. Set aside.
Start cooking!: In a heavy casserole pan, melt the butter and cook the prawns, 2 minutes on each side. Don't put the pan on high heat, just about medium to medium low will do. Otherwise, you'll burn the bottom. Set aside the cooked prawns. Then cook the chorizo sausages. Set that aside with the prawns.
Next, prepare the roux. Add some more oil or butter if you prefer, sprinkle the all purpose flour, you can use more if you want a thicker sauce. Once the flour hits the pan, quickly start whisking, otherwise, the flour will clump up and you won't have a smooth roux. When the roux has thickened, add the wine and deglaze the bottom for a couple of minutes. Add the celery, onion and bell pepper and fry for another couple of minutes. Pour in the stewed tomatoes and stir to combine with the veggies. At this point, sprinkle the Creole seasoning and paprika. Simmer for 10-15 minutes. The sauce will thicken and a delicious warm aroma will fill your kitchen. It is glorious!
Last steps: Stir in the prawns and chorizo. Serve hot with rice or bread. I didn't have any carbs in m kitchen (oops....) so I had it on its own. A bit salty and incredibly tasty - it felt like I got hit in the face with spices and yes, it's a good thing.
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