Shrimp Stew

I mentioned last week that hubby and I had been sick.  This left me with a near constant craving for soup, which is very odd for me.  And even odder still, I really wanted shrimp stew.  That's weird because I'd never had shrimp stew.  It just sounded like something I wanted to eat.  Can you crave something you've never had?  I guess so.   

Having a general idea of what shrimp stew was (a traditional Cajun comfort dish), I did some searching online at checked out various recipes.  I came across recipes from the big names (Emeril, John Folse) and a few from fellow bloggers.  They were all basically the same and what I expected; a roux (varying from light to dark), with the trinity (onions, bellpepper, and celery), shrimp stock, shrimp, and seasonings.  Some had tomatoes, some had potatoes.  So, with that knowledge in hand, I took a look in the pantry, and then I tried my hand at crafting a pot of shrimp stew.  

(Hello shrimp stew; how do you do?)

Shrimp Stew

• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 4 cups seafood broth*
• 2 cups water
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/2 - 1 tsp Tabasco
• salt, to taste
• 1/4 tsp red pepper
• 1 lb peeled shrimp**
• chopped green onions, to garnish

In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat until smoking.   Slowly add flour, stirring vigorously, until fully incorporated.  Cook over medium-low to medium heat, stirring constantly, until milk-chocolate brown.

Stir in onions and garlic and cook until onions are soft and fragrant.  Whisking vigorously, slowly add water.  You must do this slowly and steadily or the roux and water won't come together.  Once the water is fully incorporated, whisk in the stock.  Add tomatoes, oregano, Tabasco, salt, and red pepper.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook, covered for 45-60 minutes. 

15 minutes prior to serving, add in shrimp.  Serve over white rice, garnished with green onions. 

*Preferably, you would buy fresh, head-on shrimp and use the heads and tails to create your own broth.  I made this on a weeknight, so while I had a big bag of shrimp heads and tails in the freezer, I wasn't willing to spend the time making the stock in addition to making the stew.  

**As I just mentioned, it would be preferable to use really fresh, head-on shrimp.  In that instance, you would want to buy 2-3 pounds of shrimp, since about half the weight is head and shell.