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A black skillet fillet with shrimp creole with green onion sprinkled on top.
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5 from 43 votes

Spicy Shrimp Creole With Italian Rustic Polenta

Plump juicy shrimp in a smothered in a rich tomato sauce seasoned with garlic, onion, cayenne and hot sauce. One taste of these shrimp with sauce will have you swooning in delight. Serve with rustic polenta, white rice, or just a hunk of crusty French bread. 
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Total Time1 hour 5 minutes
Course: Main Course, Party appetizer, Seafood dish
Cuisine: Creole, New Orleans
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 611kcal

Ingredients

Shrimp Creole

  • ¼ cup unsalted butter
  • 1 cup onions chopped
  • ½ cup green peppers chopped
  • ½ cup celery chopped
  • 1 ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 14.5 oz diced tomatoes Fire Roasted
  • 1 14.5 oz diced tomatoes with Basil, Garlic, Oregano
  • 1 ½ teaspoon garlic chopped
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 1 lb shrimp medium deveined and peeled
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon hot sauce
  • ¼ cup scallion greens chopped
  • 1 tsbsp parsley chopped
  • ½ teaspoon cayenne

Rustic Italian Polenta ***see note

  • 1 cup polenta not quick cooking
  • 4 cups chicken stock
  • 2 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
  • 3 tablespoon Parmesan Cheese

Instructions

Shrimp Creole

  • In a heavy skillet or pot melt butter over medium heat. Add onions, peppers, celery, ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon cayenne; cook stirring, until vegetables soften, about 10 minutes. 
  • Stir in both cans of tomatoes, garlic, bay leaves and ¼ tsp. salt. Over medium-high heat bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, uncovered, 35 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • Whisk together flour and ¼ cup water. Add a small amount of the hot tomato sauce to flour mixture; stir to blend. (If you see you don't have enough liquid in the pan, add a bit of chicken stock to it.) 
  • Whisk mixture back into tomato mixture in the pan; cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened slightly, 4-6 minutes. 
  • Season shrimp with the remaining ½ tsp. salt and ¼ teaspoon cayenne. Add the shrimp to the pan along with the Worcestershire  and hot sauce.
  • Cook, stirring occasionally, over medium heat until shrimp turn pink, 4-6 minutes. Remove bay leaves. Stir in scallions and parsley. 

Creamy Rustic Polenta

  • Place the polenta, 4 cups of chicken stock, and the olive oil in a heavy 2 ½ quart saucepan and stir to combine. We like using non-stick. 
  • Set the pan over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the starch takes hold, 5 to 8 minutes.
  • Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring frequently, until the grains are soft and hold their shape on a spoon, about 1 hour. 
  • Whisk in the salt, pepper, butter, and Parmesan. 
  • Serve the Polenta along with the Shrimp Creole. Garnish with chopped parsley and scallions. 

Notes

*** We used an old-fashioned polenta that we mail-ordered and it was fantastic. This polenta has the body just like my mamma used to make. You may use a quicker polenta - just follow the directions with your polenta.

Nutrition

Calories: 611kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 35g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 341mg | Sodium: 2074mg | Potassium: 550mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 950IU | Vitamin C: 26.2mg | Calcium: 238mg | Iron: 3.7mg