Miss Jeanies SHRIMP ETOUFEE

No question, this is the only answer to what recipe takes me “home.” It’s the smell on a hot summer day of a Roux cooking very ... no very ... slowly on the stove. My mama peeling raw gulf shrimp that she has picked up during a special trip in our 1950’s Buick to a tiny fish store located under the Mississippi River bridge. Here is the recipe that was marked in my mama’s cookbook, marked with spilled flour and spots of brown roux.

Ingredients:

• 6 TBSP Butter
• 3 TBSP White Flour
• 1 cup Yellow Chopped Onions
• 6 Green Onions (akascallions in the Boston area) and tops, chopped
• 1/2 cup Chopped Bell Peppers (aka Green Peppers in the Boston area)
• 1/2 cup Chopped Celery
• 2 cups Water
• 3 lbs Shrimp , peeled and deveined
• 1/4 cup Chopped Parsley
• Salt and Pepper To Taste
• 1 Small Bay Leaf
• Tabasco to Taste (no other hot sauce allowed!)
• White Rice (Louisiana if possible)

Instructions:

In a skillet, melt the butter and slowly stir in the flour. Cook stirring constantly until this is a dark rich brown, being very careful not to burn. Keep the temperature as low as you need to maintain control of the color change. Allow your roux to get as dark as you possibly can. Then add your vegetables and cook until tender. Stir in the water, uncooked shrimp, parsley and seasonings. Simmer uncovered for about 20 minutes. Cook your rice in a separate pot. When ready for a divine meal, soon up your rice and smother it with your shrimp sauce. Time to moan!