Creole Shrimp and Creamed Corn

In honor of Fat Tuesday, which is tomorrow, I made a real New Orleans dish for dinner tonight. This is a take on Shrimp and Grits which is one of my favorite Southern dishes. This recipe uses creole seasoning, not cajun seasoning. I didn't know there was a difference but there is. Cajun seasoning consists of many different peppers, such as white and black pepper, bell peppers and cayenne peppers. Cajun cuisine also incorporates paprika, garlic, onion and celery. Creole seasoning primarily relies on herbs like oregano, bay leaf, basil, thyme, rosemary, parsley and paprika. You can probably guess that if your dish has tomatoes in it, the recipe will most likely be asking for creole seasoning. Creole seasoning will result in a well seasoned dish while cajun seasoning will give you something very spicy. This dish has creole seasoning and I can vouch that it was full of flavor. Creole seasoning may be hard to find if you don't live in Louisiana. There is a very common brand called Tony Chachere's and I was able to find it at our local Fred Meyer store.

The original recipe called for fresh, shucked corn but since this is not corn season, I used frozen corn and it still worked out perfectly so I'm putting that in my recipe. This recipe once again came from the Cooking Light, although I don't know why it would be in a diet plan. I wouldn't think that creamed corn has less calories than grits but it certainly tastes just as good. (1 cup of corn mixture + 1/2 cup of shrimp mixture = 430 Calories)

Serves 4

3-1/2 cups frozen corn
1-1/2 cups 1% milk
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 Tbsp. butter, divided
3/4 tsp. kosher salt, divided
1 lb. raw large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tsp. Creole seasoning such as Tony Chachere's
3/4 tsp. smoked paprika
1/2 tsp. black pepper
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 cup halved grape tomatoes
1 Tbsp. fresh thyme leaves
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1/4 cup dry white wine such as Pinot Grigio

1. Set aside 1/2 cup of frozen corn and place the rest of the corn in a food processor. Pulse corn until very fine.

2. Add processed kernels, milk and cornstarch into a medium saucepan. 

 

3. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring often. Reduce heat to low; simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 5 minutes. 

4. Stir in 1 Tbsp. butter and 1/4 tsp. salt. Remove from heat, cover and keep warm.

5. Combine shrimp, creole seasoning, paprika and pepper. 

 

6. Heat a skillet over medium-high. Add oil and remaining 1 Tbsp. butter to skillet. 

7. Add shrimp and cook, without stirring for 1 minute. 

8. Add tomatoes, thyme, garlic, green onions, remaining 1/2 tsp. salt, and remaining whole corn. Cook, stirring occasionally, until shrimp are done, 1 to 2 minutes.

9. Add wine, cook, stirring and scraping pan to loosen browned bits, 30 seconds. 

 

10. Serve shrimp mixture over creamed corn.