Creole Shrimp

Tonight we give you Creole Shrimp.

This ends my continuing effort to explore foods James Monroe may have enjoyed as President. The first was chicken, the second was beef, the third is seafood. All this will end up in my final James Monroe Geocache, A Taste of History.

Creole cooking has its origins in France (and as we has established, he was an ambassador to France), but tied with the influences of African origins in the West Indies, culminating in the establishment of creole and then Cajun styles of cooking, a wonderful (and my personal favorite) uniquely identified style of authentic American cuisine.

So in my imagination, in a Colonial America, with its close ties to both France, the West Indies via trade and our burgeoning traditions in New Louisiana, I see James Monroe easily enjoying a meal of Creole Shrimp, as seafood was a common meal in the region.

We also have our friend Deborah Firer who provided the tomatoes and peppers from her garden.

Creole Sauce

Make your Seafood stock. We made this by taking the tails and shells from our shrimp, add to a couple cups of water, combining them with a chopped up onion, a chopped up carrot and a chopped up celery along with some sea salt and a lot of black pepper and garlic. Let that boil for a while. Strain when needed.

Otherwise, it always begins with the ‘holy trinity.’
• Onions
• Celery
• Bell Pepper (we used yellow)

Saute in olive oil. Add a garlic for 30 seconds. Add tomato paste (we used one small can), stir to bloom the flavors. Add tomatoes, we used short of a dozen fresh plum, but a 14oz can of diced would be fine. Add your seafood stock.

Add a table spoon of Worcestershire sauce, a tablespoon of creole seasoning, black pepper and hot sauce. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Add the shrimp for about 10 minutes to cook through.

Tonight we cooked up some veggie pasta and toasted a french baguette to sup up that great Creole sauce. It was a perfect meal!