Criollo Shrimp Recipes

Steps:

• Heat a large heavy Dutch oven over medium heat. Add oil. Cook garlic, onions, celery, and green bell peppers. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in cayenne and let caramelize. Add the seafood stock, tomatoes, Worcestershire, hot sauce, and bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 35 minutes. Add shrimp and cook about 4 more minutes, until they are bright pink and cooked through. Garnish with green onions.

Steps:

• For the shrimp stew: Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels and add to a bowl. Toss with the adobo, a pinch of salt and a few cracks of pepper and set aside.
• Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oregano, smoked paprika, olives and brine, cilantro, onion, red bell pepper and a pinch of salt and cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the onions are translucent, about 3 minutes. Pour in half of the beer, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom, and cook down for 1 minute. Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and the rest of the beer. Cook over medium-high heat until the liquids reduce by a third, about 5 minutes, then turn the heat to low and keep warm.
• For the mofongo: Heat a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat and add the corn oil. Heat until the oil reaches 325 degrees F or it bubbles when in contact with a wooden spoon.
• Add the plantains to the oil, lower the heat to low and fry, flipping halfway through, until light golden and cooked through but not yet crispy, about 15 minutes. Drain the plantains on paper towels and season with salt.
• Combine the olive oil and garlic in a mortar and pestle and process to form a paste. Season with about 1 teaspoon salt. Transfer the mixture to a small bowl and set aside.
• Add 5 to 6 chunks of the fried plantains, 1 tablespoon of the oil mixture and about 2 tablespoons of the crushed pork rinds, if using, to the same mortar and pestle. Mix until well mashed and combined. Scoop out the mofongo with a spoon and use your hands to form the mixture into a bowl, creating a cradle for the shrimp stew. Repeat 3 additional times.
• For serving: Return the stew to medium-high heat and cook until it starts to simmer. Add the peas and cook for 1 minute. Add the shrimp and lemon juice, then continue to cook until the shrimp are cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes. Plate the mofongo and spoon the shrimp stew into them.

Steps:

• Make the optional Creole seasoning: Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and stir together. The seasoning makes about 1/4 cup; store it in a closed container in a cool, dry place.
• Toss the raw shrimp with 1 teaspoon Creole seasoning and set aside.
• In a Dutch oven or large, heavy skillet, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Sprinkle the flour on top and stir constantly with a wooden spoon until a roux the color of peanut butter forms, about 10 minutes.
• Add the onion, celery and bell pepper, increase the heat to medium and cook until softened, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute.
• Stir in 1/3 cup water, then the tomato sauce, hot sauce (if using), sugar, thyme, oregano, basil, bay leaves, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper and the remaining 1 teaspoon Creole seasoning. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes until thickened, stirring occasionally to make sure that the bottom doesn't burn. (If needed, add more water.)
• Once the stew has thickened, add the seasoned shrimp and simmer until opaque and cooked through, about 5 minutes, turning each piece halfway through the cooking time. Taste and adjust seasoning.
• Remove from the heat and let stand for 10 minutes, uncovered. Sprinkle with scallions and parsley, and serve over steamed rice.

Steps:

• Heat oil in a Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium heat. Cook and stir onion, celery, bell pepper, and garlic in hot oil until soft, 5 to 7 minutes; add diced tomatoes and green chiles, tomato sauce, sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, and bay leaves. Reduce heat to medium low and continue cooking until vegetables are soft, about 30 minutes.
• Put flour into a large sealable plastic bag. Season flour with salt and pepper. Add shrimp to bag, close bag, and shake to coat shrimp in seasoned flour.
• Stir tomato juice into the mixture in the Dutch oven. Reduce heat to low and cook until the juice reduces slightly, about 5 minutes; add shrimp and cook until shrimp turn pink, about 5 minutes. Remove Dutch oven from heat and let the residual heat finish cooking the shrimp until they are bright pink and the meat is no longer translucent, about 5 minutes more.