Here's my recipe for shrimp etoufee that I made last Saturday night:
1 1/2 teaspoons Cayenne pepper (or more, if you really like it spicey)
1 1/2 teaspoons white pepper (or more, etc)
1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground basil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt (I like to keep the amount of salt at a minimum)
1/2 cup finely chopped onions
1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1 1/2 cups finely chopped green onion (or more; they add some "kick")
3 pounds medium peeled shrimp
1 cup flour
ten tablespoons cooking oil
3 to 5 cups seafood stock (if you don't have homemade seafood stock on hand, most fish markets sell seafood clam juice, which also works well; that's what I used on Saturday)
To make the roux: put the cooking oil in a frying pan, and heat on high until adding a "pinch" of flour causes it to sizzle. Slowly add the flour while whisking constantly. Continue whisking until the mixture is medium brown. Don't let it stick to the pan, or it will burn. Immediately add the vegetables and quickly start whisking to keep them from burning, then add the seasonings. Turn off the heat, and continue to whisk until the roux has cooled.
In a large kettle, bring three cups of the seafood stock to a boil, then add the roux mixture a bit at a time, stirring constantly. Add additional seafood stock as needed until the mixture has the consistency of gravy. Remove from heat.
In a shallow baking pan, combine four cups rice with five cups seafood stock. Sprinkle with fingerfuls of chopped celery, onion, and red bell pepper. Add a pinch of cayenne pepper, ground black pepper, and white pepper. Cut up 1/2 stick butter and mix it in. Cover with foil and bake for one hour.
When the rice is close to being done, heat up the roux/seafood stock mixture until it begins to bubble. Dump in all of the shrimp, and stir until the shrimp have fully plumped. (My wife is the shrimp expert, so I rely on her to tell me when they're perfect).
Put however much rice you want on a dish, and ladle the etoufee over it. Eat immediately.
It's good. This recipe makes enough etoufee for my wife and I to eat for two or three nights.
