This Creole version of étouffée is not very spicy. Cajun is the spicier version. You can always serve this with a bottle of your favorite bottle of hot sauce.
Shrimps don’t have fat for the sauce so the addition of mushrooms, Worcestershire sauce, and butter add a wonderful umami flavor. Wild lobster mushrooms go really well with this dish, but store bought mushrooms work wonderfully as well.
Étouffée is the French word for “smothered.” Smothering meat, seafood, or vegetables is a cooking technique used in the Southeastern states. Biscuits smothered in a homemade sausage gravy is a common breakfast food.
Shrimp and Lobster Mushroom Étouffée is shrimp smothered in a rich mushroom and tomato sauce which is served with white rice.
EQUIPMENT: large cast iron skillet, quality heavy bottom pot.
Shrimp and Lobster Mushroom |Étouffée
Cuisine: CreoleDifficulty: Average4
servings30
minutes1
hour30
minutesIngredients
8 tablespoons organic unsalted butter
1 lb lobster mushrooms, sliced and then cut into bite-size pieces*
1 sprig fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 lbs medium to large sustainably caught or farmed shrimp or prawns,** peeled and deveined
1 tablespoon Spanish sweet smoked paprika
vegetable oil, if needed
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups chopped yellow onions
1 cup chopped green bell peppers, ribs and seeds removed first
1 cup chopped celery
1 tablespoon minced garlic, from a jar
2 (8 oz) bottles clam juice
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, preferably San Marzano
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black peppercorns
1 sprig fresh oregano
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
white rice, for serving
Directions
- Melt butter in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add thyme and salt. Stir for 1 minute.
- Add mushrooms. Reduce heat to low. Sauté for about 30 minutes, until lightly browned and still soft.
- Use a slotted spoon to remove mushrooms from butter mixture and set aside.
- Raise heat to medium, add shrimp and paprika, and sauté until shrimp are pink and starting to curl. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside with mushrooms.
- Pour the remaining butter and solids from skillet into a measuring cup. Add vegetable oil, if needed, to make 1/2 cup and pour back into skillet.
- Raise heat to medium-high and slowly whisk in flour, a little at a time. You’re making a roux. If you’ve never made one before it might be helpful to check out some videos online. Don’t stop whisking until the color of the roux resembles color of peanut butter.
- Quickly add Holy Trinity (onions, bell peppers, celery) and garlic to the roux. Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables have softened, scraping the bottom of the skillet. Remove from heat.
- Place a large pot over medium heat. Transfer ingredients from skillet into pot.
- Deglaze skillet with clam juice. Scraping solids from bottom of the skillet. Transfer to pot.
- Add tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaf, cayenne, white pepper, freshly ground black peppercorns, and oregano to pot.
- Bring to a boil, and reduce heat to low. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare white rice for serving.
- Discard thyme and oregano sprigs.
- Add shrimp and mushrooms to the pot, stirring to distribute evenly. As soon as shrimp are cooked through, remove from heat. Try one of the shrimps to be sure. Don’t overcook them. Just in case, try a second one! Nobody is looking, right?
- Add the chopped parsley to the pot and stir to combine.
- Serve immediately with white rice.
Notes
- *Substitute shiitake mushrooms. Optionally add chopped lobster tail with the shrimp, but not necessary.
- **Check Seafood Watch
