Brazilian Shrimp Strogonoff

Strogonofe is a dish that is very dear to my heart, and up until this day it`s the first meal I ask my mom to make when I go visit. Whether it`s made with chicken, beef, shrimp or jerk beef, I was never disappointed. This past week as I was missing home, we decided to make the shrimp version with a Canadian flair to it. It`s quite simple and it packs on a lot of flavour.

Start by marinating a ½ Lb of fresh (or fully thawed) raw shrimp (the small ones will be fine) with a ¼ cup of fresh lime juice and a sprinkle of salt and pepper in a large bowl. Place it in the fridge until you`re ready to use it. Just like Ceviche, the lime juice will “cook” the shrimp so don`t be surprised when it becomes pink.

Now that your protein is prepared, you can start making the sauce. Small dice 1 Spanish onion and 1 green pepper, mince two garlic cloves and chop 3 slices of bacon into small pieces. Open a can of mushrooms (Dollarama sells them for $1.50), drain the mushrooms and cut them in 4 pieces each.

Add 1 tablespoon of butter to a medium pot on medium heat and sauté the chopped onion, pepper and bacon until the onion is tender and the bacon is rendered.

Add the minced garlic, ½ tablespoon each of tomato paste and hot sauce, 1 tablespoon of ketchup and 1 teaspoon of yellow mustard, mix it and cook for another 2 minutes. Then add 1 can of diced tomatoes, 1 cup of chicken or vegetable broth, the quartered mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Top it with a lid and cook for 20 minutes on low heat.

Mix the sauce and add 1 cup of table cream (18%), let it cook for another 15 minutes uncovered, stirring occasionally. Your sauce should be thicker at this point.

Drain the shrimp and add them to the pot, mix and cook for another 5 minutes. Top it with fresh herbs.

Serve with rice and top it with potato matchsticks. If you can`t find the matchsticks, you can either make your own by shaving and frying a potato or simply crush a cup or so of unflavoured potato chips to add a crunch on top.

Brazilian Shrimp Strogonoff

Servings: 4

Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients

1 Spanish Onion

2 Garlic Cloves

3 Slices of Bacon (optional)

1 Green Pepper

½ Lb Raw Shrimp (peeled and deveined)

1 Can Diced Tomatoes (28oz)

¼ Cup Parsley

Potato Matchsticks (you can also fry shaved potatoes until crispy or use crushed potato chips)

¼ Cup Fresh Lime Juice

1 Tbsp Ketchup

1 tsp Yellow Mustard

1 Cup Chicken or Vegetable Broth

1 Can Mushrooms

1 Cup Table Cream

½ Tbsp Tomato Paste

½ Tbsp Hot Sauce

1 Tbsp Butter

2 Cups White Rice (Cooked)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Step-by-Step

1.       In a large bowl, marinate (thawed) shrimp with the lime juice, salt and pepper and reserve in the fridge.

2.       In a medium pot, sauté chopped onions, pepper and bacon on medium heat with butter for about 5 minutes, add minced garlic, tomato paste, hot sauce, mustard and ketchup, mix and cook for another 2 minutes.

3.       Add the diced tomatoes, chicken broth and drained quartered mushrooms, salt and pepper, cover with a lid and cook on low heat for 20 minutes.

4.       Add the table cream and cook for another 15 minutes uncovered, until the sauce is thicker. Drain the shrimp and add it to the pot as well, cook for another 5 minutes. Serve with rice and top with fresh herbs and potato matchsticks.