Get Your Spices in Order to Make This Etouffee Recipe From a NOLA Chef

New Orleans is not short on iconic dishes that define its local cuisine. Brimming with po’ boys, gumbo, jambalaya, and red beans and rice, many of the city’s famous dishes reflect its Creole and Cajun identity — and arguably no dish does so more than etouffee.

Made with shellfish and the so-called holy trinity (onion, celery, and green bell pepper), etouffee is a stew typically served over rice. Blake Cressey, the chef and owner behind wildly popular NOLA food truck Tasty Treat, turns to the simmered seafood dish when it’s time to feed and please crowds.

Cressey is joining Instagram Live as part of our Eater at Home series, to show how she whips up this New Orleans staple her way: with shrimp, tomatoes, and a ton of spices. Check out the recipe below.

Shrimp Etouffee

Ingredients:
³⁄₄ teaspoon Tasty Treat Seafood Sprinkle
¹⁄₄ teaspoon ground thyme
¹⁄₄ teaspoon dried oregano
¹⁄₄ teaspoon Tasty Treat House Seasoning
¹⁄₄ teaspoon garlic powder
¹⁄₄ teaspoon onion powder
¹⁄₄ teaspoon white pepper
¹⁄₄ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined
¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 tablespoons butter
¹⁄₃ cup onion, diced
¹⁄₃ cup green bell pepper, diced
¹⁄₃ cup celery, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, or as needed
2 cups tomatoes, diced
1 ³⁄₄ cups seafood stock, or as needed
¹⁄₂ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
¹⁄₂ cup sherry wine
1 ¹⁄₂ tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon Tabasco Sauce, plus more to garnish
¹⁄₄ cup sliced green onions
Salt
Cooked white rice, for serving

Step 1: Drain shrimp in a colander for at least 10 to 15 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk Seafood Sprinkle, thyme, oregano, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, the house seasoning, white pepper, and black pepper together in a small bowl; set aside.

Step 2: Once shrimp is drained, transfer to a bowl lined with paper towels and continue to dry shrimp. Remove paper towels from bowl and season shrimp with 1 teaspoon of Seafood Sprinkle and 1 teaspoon of the reserved spice blend. Toss to coat shrimp completely.

Step 3: Heat vegetable oil in a large heavy skillet over high heat until oil is smoking hot. Cook shrimp in the hot oil without stirring for 1 minute. Then stir and cook for 1 more minute. Remove shrimp from heat and transfer to a large bowl. Let stand until juice forms in bowl. Strain shrimp juices for a total 2 cups of stock, adding more seafood stock if necessary.

Step 4: Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat until butter begins to turn light brown at the edges. Sauté onion, celery, and green pepper in butter until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Pour in remaining spice blend.

Step 5: Sprinkle flour into vegetable mixture and sauté until combined, about 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and cook until tomato juices begin to brown on bottom of pan, about 3 minutes. Whisk stock into vegetable mixture, stirring until smooth. Bring to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened and reduced to a gravy consistency, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in Worcestershire sauce, sherry wine, lemon juice, and Tabasco Sauce. Season with salt or house seasoning to taste. This is your etouffee sauce.

Step 6: Stir shrimp into etouffee and let simmer until shrimp are cooked all the way through and no longer translucent, about 1 minute. Garnish with green onions and a sprinkle of house seasoning and a few dashes of Tabasco. Pour over rice in large, shallow bowls. Enjoy!