Spring has just begun but there is still a slight chill in the air. Perfect weather for a healthy shrimp creole. I researched recipes to see what was out there and they all seemed a little heavy to me. I wanted a light shrimp creole but full of flavor and a twist with more variety of veggies in it. Most of the time spent on making it was the prep or mise en place of the veggies and building flavor in the roux before adding the shrimp at the end.

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1 cup of diced carrots
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 15 oz diced tomato
• 2 cups shrimp stock or water
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• Steamed brown rice for garnish
• Chopped parsley for garnish

Directions: Bake the flour on a cookie sheet at 350 until nut brown. Combine onion, celery, green pepper, carrots and garlic. Cook until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in diced tomatoes and their juice, shrimp stock and bay leaves, and add the baked flour. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 1 hour. Add shrimp and cook until pink. Season to taste with salt and cayenne. To serve, ladle over steamed rice and garnish with parsley.