Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:
- Oil (I use bacon grease or butter-canola is fine as well)
- Cup of chopped onions
- 1/2 cup of diced green or red or both peppers
- 1/2 cup of diced celery
- 2 medium Bay Leaves
- 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
- 3-4 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
- 2 1/2 cans of chicken broth OR 1 carton of chicken broth OR about 4-5 cups total
- 1 tablespoon of Old Bay Seasonings
- 1 teaspoon of thyme
- Salt/Pepper to taste
- 1 pound of cleaned shrimp
- Flour for dredging shrimp
- A tablespoon of flour mixed with a tablespoon of water mixed smooth.
Preparation:
Add enough oil to cover bottom of a dutch oven/quart pan. Add onions, pepper and celery. Cook till translucent, about 5 minutes over medium heat. Add bay leaves and tomato paste. Stir through and let it turn slightly golden brown. Add garlic, stir through. Pour in the chicken broth and scrape up bottom to get any stuck bits.Add seasonings and bring to a boil. Once bubbly, turn heat down to a simmering heat and let it simmer for about 20 minutes or till the celery is softened.
Meanwhile make your rice.
Then season the shrimp using salt/pepper or Old Bay seasonings. Dredge through flour and sauté shrimp till done. About five minutes total. Set aside. You can eliminate this step and just add the raw shrimp in the last 10 minutes of cooking. I just like it this way for my taste.
When the "broth" is cooked, taste to adjust for salt/pepper. Add flour slurry and bring the "broth" to a boil while stirring. Turn off heat, add cooked shrimp and stir through. Pick out bay leaves. Serve in big bowls with a scoop of rice in the middle. Break out the crusty french bread for dipping.
*Optional, you can add a cup of beer in the last five minutes of cooking to allow the alcohol to evaporate. - Heather