DIY Network

Cajun Shrimp With Rice From "Paul James' Home Grown Cooking" episode HGC-117

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Cajun Shrimp With Rice

Ingredients:

1 cup Andouille sausage, diced
1/2 cup corn oil
2/3 cup flour
3/4 cup green bell pepper, diced
3/4 cup yellow onion, diced
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup chicken broth
2 tsp. fresh thyme, minced
2 tsp. oregano, (optional)
3 cups fresh tomatoes, chopped
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp. white pepper
1/8 tsp. black pepper
Pinch of salt
Juice of 2 lemons
1 lb. large shrimp, peeled, deveined and tails removed
6 cups cooked rice, still warm
Crawfish, for garnish

Preparation:

In a skillet over high heat, brown sausage until thoroughly cooked. Transfer cooked sausage to a plate. Add corn oil to the sausage grease in skillet. Heat the oil until very hot. To prepare roux, gradually whisk in flour and cook for about 10 minutes, whisking constantly. Flour mixture will turn from beige to light brown to mahogany brown. Do not allow roux to burn. When roux is mahogany brown, immediately add pepper, onion and garlic, and stir for one minute.

Add stock, thyme, tomatoes and seasonings and stir to blend. Lower heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Squeeze lemons over shrimp and toss to coat. Add shrimp and cooked sausage to skillet and cook until shrimp turns pink. Mound rice on center of plate and spoon shrimp mixture around sides. Garnish with crawfish.

Types of rice:

• Arborio -- The classic risotto rice.

• Basmati -- Grown in the foothills of the Himalayas; very light, fluffy and fragrant.

• Brown Rice -- The whole rice with only the outer tough husk removed. Nutty and chewy. Increase cooking time, as it absorbs four times its volume in liquid.

• Short Grain -- Especially good for milk puddings and rice desserts.

• White Rice -- Milled to remove the husk and bran, includes varieties such as Arborio and Basmati.

• Wild Rice -- Not really rice, but an aquatic grass requiring 35 to 40 minutes cooking time. It is very nutritious.