Cajun Shrimp Scampi with Creole Rice

Yield: 4 servings

Prep time: 10 mins

Total time: 40 mins

This is literally my favorite thing that I’ve ever cooked. Seriously. Have you ever cooked something and surprised yourself with how good it was? Well that’s how I feel about this dish. From the moment I smelled the rice simmering, I knew it was going to be something special. The savory rice and the well-spiced shrimp come together to create a dish that pays homage to the cuisines of Louisiana in a perfect way.

The key to this recipe lies in your scampi sauce. By microplanning/grating the garlic, you are releasing much more garlic flavor than a regular dice can give you. The addition of red pepper flakes provides a nice kick to balance out the sweetness of the garlic. The rice is easy, and its simmering time ensures that all the components to your meal should be done at the same time (which is no easy feat, trust me). I can’t say enough good things about this recipe. I love it, and I’m sure you will, too!

Ingredients

For the rice:

½ yellow onion, finely diced
2 stalks celery, finely diced
½ green bell pepper, finely diced
3-4 cloves garlic, grated
¼ tsp dried thyme
¼ tsp dried basil
¼ tsp dried oregano
¼ tsp paprika
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
1 cup Jasmine rice
2 cups chicken stock
3 tbsp butter

For the shrimp:

1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tsp Cajun seasoning
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp shallots, diced
½ cup white wine
Zest and juice of ½ lemon
1 tsp red pepper flakes
¼ tsp Cajun seasoning (optional)
¼ tsp Cayenne pepper (optional)

Directions

For the Rice:

• In a Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat. Sauté vegetables (celery, bell pepper, onion, garlic) in butter for about 3-5 minutes, or until they begin to soften.
• Add the seasonings and rice, and stir to make sure the rice is well coated. Let the rice cook 2-3 minutes, until it begins to lightly toast. 
• Stir in chicken stock and let come to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and allow rice to simmer for 20-25 minutes.
• When rice is done, fluff with fork.

For the Shrimp:

• Season shrimp with 2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning.
• In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat. When hot, sear shrimp on each side (about 2-3 minutes per side), then remove. You may need to sear shrimp in batches for best coloring. 
• When all shrimp are seared and removed, heat up additional tablespoon of oil. Add garlic and shallot and sauté until fragrant, for about 2 minutes. 
• Add butter and allow it to melt. Then, add red pepper flakes, lemon zest, and lemon juice, and sauté everything together for an additional minute. 
• Add in white wine and turn heat up to medium high. Let the wine reduce (this will take about 5-7 minutes).
• (Optional) Season scampi sauce with ¼ teaspoon Cajun seasoning and ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper.
• Toss shrimp into finished sauce. Serve shrimp and sauce over rice.

Recipe Tips

• I use Jasmine rice because I enjoy how fragrant it is. You can also use long grain white rice. You should always wash your rice before cooking.
• When cooking with white wine, I always use Pinot Grigio or Chardonnay. Feel free to use your favorite dry white wine. I do not recommend using a sweet white wine (such as Moscato, Riesling, etc.).
• For this recipe, I microplaned the garlic. This allows a great deal of flavor to be released and does impact the taste of the dish. Simply chopping or mincing the garlic may not result in the same release of flavor.