Shrimp Remoulade Recipe

Shrimp salad is one of my all-time favorites, especially if it’s tossed in a delicious remoulade sauce.  I used to eat this all the time when I lived in New Orleans—and I never go back without making a stop at the Gumbo Shop for a taste.  I don’t know exactly how the Gumbo Shop prepares shrimp remoulade, but this recipe is how I throw it together.   A lot of ingredients go into the sauce, but it’s worth the effort.  Give it a try, and for more recipes check out the Chef Buck playlist:  http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2EFBD7E8FE2BB552

Shrimp Remoulade

sauce ingredients:

TOMATO PUREE (½ cup)

MUSTARD (¼ cup --creole, stone ground, or dijon)

HORSERADISH (2 tsp --prepared)

GREEN ONION (1 tsp, minced)

PARSLEY (1 Tbsp, finely chopped)

WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE (½ tsp)

MAYONNAISE (3-5 Tbsp)

CELERY (1 Tbsp, minced)

GARLIC (1 clove, minced)

CHILI POWDER (1 tsp)

PAPRIKA (1 tsp, smoked)

SUGAR (1 tsp, optional

SALT (to taste)

HOT SAUCE (½ tsp)

LEMON JUICE (1 Tbsp)

OLIVE OIL (1 Tbsp)

VINEGAR (1 tsp)

salad ingredients:

SHRIMP (1 lb, boiled)

SALAD GREENS

TOMATO SLICES

GREEN ONION (chopped, optional)

directions:

The sauce:

To make the sauce, just mix all the sauce ingredients together (really?!).  I’m using tomato puree in this version, but I’ve also made this dish using ketchup or tomato sauce; it will be thinner if you use those two, but that can be a good thing, especially if you want to toss the greens in the remoulade sauce.  Sugar is optional and definitely not needed if you’re using ketchup, which is usually sweet enough.  Sometimes I’ll add a teaspoon of onion powder.  This is a great recipe to play with, but be judicious with the mayonnaise!  Using fresh ingredients like parsley, garlic, green onion, and celery will really make this sauce shine.  You can definitely make and serve the sauce immediately, but making it hours ahead or even the day before will embolden the flavors.  Embolden the flavors?  I’m not sure if that’s the right way to say that, but you know what I mean.

The shrimp:

I’m using 1 pound of deveined shrimp in the shell.  For this salad, the bigger the shrimp the better, but I usually get whatever’s on sale—any kind of shrimp is gonna be delish in this dish.  Before boiling, prepare a bowl of ice water to cool the shrimp after cooking—this will keep the shrimp from becoming overdone (tough and rubbery).

Put a pot of water on the stove and add 2 bay leaves and a generous amount of salt.  Bring the pot to a boil and add the shrimp.  I find a pound of shrimp takes about 2 minutes, but this will vary depending on the size of the shrimp and the amount of water in the pot.  For sure, they will cook fast.  Do not ignore them—it’s not a good time to multi-task.  When the shrimp turn pink, they’re done.  Get ‘em out of the hot water and into the ice bath—this will halt the cooking process, and your shrimp will be perfecto (and easy to peel now that they're cooked!).

Toss the shrimp in the remoulade sauce and serve over a bed of fresh greens.  I like to garnish the salad with green onion and fresh tomato.  Serve with saltines or a loaf of French bread and soft butter.  Let the salivating begin.

And bon appétit!