Serves 4 to 6

The word Étouffée literally means, to stifle or smother".  I was taught this recipe by a Cajun woman who owned a small cafe on the bank of the Bayou Teche in St. Martinville.  Nearby stands the legendary Evangeline Oak made famous as the meeting place of the ill fated lovers in Henry_Wadsworth_Longfellow’s epic poem, Evangeline.

Bayou Teche itself is a place of curious mystery and legend.  The work Teche, means “snake,” in the Chitimacha Indian language.  According to a legend a huge and venomous snake, measuring miles long, plagued the Chitimacha for decades.  Eventually a brave Chief called together all his warriors together and they attacked and killed the snake.  In it’s writhing death throws, it carved out a curving indentation in the ground which twisted and turned for miles.  After the body of the snake had decayed the twisting slash in the earth filled with water and became the Bayou Teche.

1 pound cooked baby shrimp meat (or small raw prawns)

1 or 2 tablespoons olive oil

3 or 4 cloves of garlic, finely minced

1 yellow onion, diced

1 stalk of celery, chopped small

2 to 3 green onions, finely chopped, including some of the green

2 to 3 fresh ripe tomatoes, seeded, peeled and chopped

1 teaspoon mixed herbs, (Italian seasoning)

Dried chili flakes to taste, (I like this dish to have only a light burr of heat; but not so much as to mask the taste of the shrimp)

1 teaspoon sugar

A dash of Tabasco, - (or to taste)

1  tablespoon of Roux, or as needed to thicken the Étouffée sauce. 

About 2 cups of fish or chicken stock – (homemade or commercial)

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Salt and fresh, coarse ground black pepper

Boil shrimp or  prawns, if raw, until they are until pink.  Peel and devein.  Set aside.  You may wish to use the shells and boiling liquid to make the stock.  Heat the olive oil in a heavy skillet and gently sauté the onions and garlic until pinkish and translucent but not yet browned.  Add the next seven ingredients and stir gently, to coat all evenly with the oil.  Add the Roux and stir, then gradually pour in the stock and continue stirring until the liquid is evenly distributed and begins to thicken.  Simmer until thickened and hot through.  Stir in the parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Simmer for another two to three mintues.

To serve, put hot, fluffy long grained white rice on a serving plate.  Scatter the shrimp or prawns over the rice and "smother," with the sauce.  Garnish with a slice of lemon and fresh herbs. 

     Bayou Teche                                          

       Evangeline  Tree