I finally got all the ingredients together to make one of my very favorite--very very favorite dishes of all time--shrimp creole. Shrimp creole is a stew.
Creole is the African influence in Louisiana cooking; it is the companion to Cajun cooking, some similarities, but not the same.
This is what you have to have for shrimp creole:

Two or three slices of bacon
Three tbsp. veg. oil
One onion, diced
Two or three inner stalks of celery, with their green tops, sliced thinly
Three 14.5 oz cans of whole tomatoes
2 cups sliced okra-- Fresh is better, use frozen if absolutely necessary
Knorr's dry powder chicken bullion
Zatarain's liquid Shrimp and Crab boil (This liquid contains extracts of red pepper, bay leaves, clove, black pepper, thyme, marjoram, and other spices) Very spicy and hot; use cautiously.
Fresh shrimp, with heads and tails removed, and peeled. You want one pound of medium shrimp--AFTER they've been cleaned and peeled because shrimp are half waste with all the shells etc.(One note on shrimp-- chefs on TV make a big bugaboo about deveining shrimp, but real southerners don't worry with that.)
ALSO: what with the oil mess, fresh shrimp are becoming very expensive, I had to use frozen shrimp, which is a fair substitute at best.

Hot cooked rice

In a big pot, fry the bacon and remove it from the pot. You can nosh on that while cooking--you just want the bacon fat. Add the veg. oil, then put in the onion and celery and cook till softened. Put the tomatoes in a blender and pulse two or three times. You want tomato pieces left, not puree. You're just breaking up the tomatoes, okay? Add to the pot along with a heaping tbsp of the Knorr chicken powder. You won't need to add salt to this dish, the bullion provides enough.

Simmer the tomato vegetable mixture, add the okra and one tbsp. of the Zatarain's liquid. Add more if you like it spicier, but be careful, it's concentrated. Simmer 10 minutes or so until the okra is tender. If using frozen shrimp, add the frozen shrimp to the pot and as the pot starts to come to a simmer, turn off the heat and cover the pot. Stir after a few minutes. It's ready. Don't overcook shrimp, and it's easy to do that.

If you're lucky enough to have fresh shrimp, they are gray colored when raw. Add raw shrimp to the pot and simmer till they turn pink, a few minutes--and the dish is ready. Serve over hot rice.

susil
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