Seafood Creole

Unphotogenic steamy picture of an actually delicious and beautiful meal.

I set out to make some kind of seafood etouffee (Yats style), but every time I look up etouffee recipes, I am discouraged by the amount of time and butter they require. But then I found this recipe for seafood creole, and it sounded worth trying. I followed the recipe fairly exactly, except for a few simplifications.

It's very similar to cioppino, except requires more ordinary ingredients (no clam juice or red wine required, though red wine is great to drink with it) and it tastes good over rice, as an alternative to dipping crusty bread into the broth. Not that there's anything wrong with that. And it's spicier, or at least spicy in a different way. I like it.

I made it with pacific snapper and shrimp, and it was great. Scallops would also be good, and crawfish would be perfect if I could find good crawfish here.

The Recipe:

3/4 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/4 c butter

1 onion, chopped

3 celery ribs, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 pint crushed tomatoes

1 1/2 c chicken stock

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp hot sauce

2 bay leaves

2 lbs seafood (cod, shrimp, scallops, crawfish, etc)

• Melt butter over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, bell peppers, and garlic, and sauté until softened.
• Add spices and stir.
• Add all remaining ingredients except seafood. Reduce heat to low, and simmer 20 minutes.
• Add seafood and simmer another 20 minutes.
• Serve over rice or with crusty bread.

The Verdict:

Overall grade: A-

Overall reason: Takes a bit of effort, but it's delicious and mostly healthy.

Time to prepare: 1 hour

Husband quote: "Mmm, cioppino."