Shrimp Meunière ¶

This recipe is one of my favorite ways to use up the eggplant you find saved up in the freezer, having been left over from some another eggplant recipe in previous weeks, such as Pisto Parmigiana†. Shrimp and eggplant are well suited to be flavored with a simple meunière sauce, which has just a hint of a kick, and really enhances the dish. It may also be served over pasta to extend the experience. Just wonderful…enjoy!!

  • olive oil spray
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 cup diced eggplant
  • 1 medium carrot, julienned
  • 1 large shallot, minced
  • 1 tsp garlic paste
  • ¼ tsp <salt>
  • ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tbsp dried parsley
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 tbsp dry white wine
  • 1 cup large shrimp, cut in ½” pieces
  • 1 tbsp Lower G. I. flour†

Spray a medium sauté pan with the olive oil, add the EVOO, eggplant, carrot, shallot, and garlic paste. Sauté on medium heat until the eggplant and onion just begin to brown. Add the <salt>, pepper, parsley, lemon juice, and wine and bring up the heat to a simmer. Let simmer a few minutes until the vegetables are well heated. Then add the shrimp, sprinkle overthe flour, and mix well. Let simmer until the shrimp turn pink, remove from the heat, and serve immediately.

Serves 2.

Shrimp Trinity ⁑

Despite its strong Catholic heritage, the “holy trinity” in New Orleans refers to the base for many of its Cajun and Creole dishes, consisting of onions, celery, and green pepper. It is the regional variant of the French mirepoix, which consists of onions, carrots, and celery.

Here it is used as the base of a dish much like Shrimp Etouffée, but without rice. If you like, you may add diced carrot (trinity augmented mirepoix), or chopped mushrooms (duxelles augmented trinity), or rice (an Etouffée), or cauliflower rice† (wonderful!). But I (usually) like it just this way.

  • ½ cup onion, diced
  • ¼ cup bell pepper, seeds removed, diced
  • ¼ cup celery, diced
  • 1 oz <butter>
  • ½ cup dry white wine
  • ½ cup fish stock
  • ½ tsp dried parsley flakes
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 lb small raw shrimp, peeled and deveined

Sauté the onion, bell pepper, and celery in the <butter> until the onion is translucent. Add the wine, stock, parsley, and bay leaves, bring to a boil, and continue until the liquid is reduced by half.

Add the shrimp to the trinity liquid and simmer until the shrimp has lost its translucent appearance and has turned pink. Serve.

Makes four quarter-lb servings.