Shrimp, Crab & Sausage Ettouffe

This is my new favorite main dish! Cajun cuisine is so yummy. But I always use much less salt, if any, than is called for in traditional recipes. There is already salt in the sausage, and shrimp are naturally high in sodium. So I say, don't add any salt and enjoy the richness of this fantastic food.

Sorry, my photos didn't come out so well!

SHRIMP, CRAB & SAUSAGE ETTOUFFE

INGREDIENTS:

4 cups shrimp stock

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 bay leaf

1/2 pound Andouille sausage (I used a chicken based Andouille sausage from Trader Joe’s)

1/3 cup butter, divided

1/2 cup all-purpose flour (about 2 1/4 ounces)

1 1/2 cups chopped onion

2/3 cup diced celery

1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper

1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper

3/4 cup water

1/4 cup tomato paste

1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning

1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup chopped green onions

1 lb. lump crab meat

1/2 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined (about 20 shrimp)

METHOD:

Combine first 4 ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat; bring to a simmer.

Slice sausage into bite-size pieces. Cook in a separate small pan over medium heat until golden brown and cooked through. Remove sausage from pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Melt 1/4 cup butter in sausage drippings in the same saucepan over medium heat. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Add flour to pan; cook 8 minutes or until light brown, stirring constantly with a whisk. Remove from heat.

Add 1 cup broth mixture to pan; stir with a whisk until smooth. Add remaining 3 cups broth mixture, stirring with a whisk until smooth; set aside.

Melt remaining 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon butter in a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, and bell peppers to pan; cook 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender and onion is golden brown, stirring occasionally.

Stir in 3/4 cup water, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Add tomato paste, Cajun seasoning, garlic, black pepper, and red pepper to onion mixture; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Add reserved broth-flour mixture and Worcestershire sauce to pan, stirring well to combine; bring to a simmer. Cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add green onions, 1/4 cup parsley, sausage, crab and shrimp; cook 3 minutes or until shrimp are done. Discard bay leaf. Serve over Creole boiled rice or with garlic French bread.

I merged this recipe from two sources: GumboPages.com and I can't remember the other one.