Another Recipe – Shrimp Remoulade

A Taste of New Orleans

Hello! And happy Labor Day! If you are just joining, thanks for being here and please read the first few newsletters if you would like to be brought up to speed. We are currently right smack dab in the middle of my origin story with some recipes thrown in for good measure. If you are here for wine, have no fear, the “Wine Years” are just around the corner and then its weekly ponderings on wine and food and life from here on out!

Last week’s origin story offered a glimpse at my New Orleans years and just what that magical city has meant to me. So of course we need a recipe to go with the tale, and of course there’s no shortage of great New Orleans recipes. However, given the heat that still has us southerners in its hold I thought to go with a “lighter” dish. This might seem like an oxymoron to mention New Orleans cuisine and lightness in the same sentence, but trust me there are a few examples. Perhaps the most iconic would be Shrimp Remoulade!

Like a lot of Louisiana fare there are MANY different versions of this dish that’s basically a shrimp salad centered around a remoulade sauce. This sauce originally hails from France, and the culinary tome Larousse Gastronomique defines it as: “a cold sauce made by adding mustard, gherkins, capers, and chopped herbs to mayonnaise…”

However in New Orleans and the surrounding area, many renditions eliminate the mayonnaise altogether. Two hallmark French Quarter restaurants – Galatoire’s and Arnaud’s – both make a mustard heavy version of the sauce. And both have had this dish on their menus since the early 20th century! 

Eula Mae Dor, longtime cook for the McIlhenny family (creators of Tabasco hot sauce!), also gives a mustard heavy version in her cookbook Eula Mae’s Cajun Kitchen (a book I highly recommend by the way!). 

But all this history aside…plenty of New Orleans restaurants meet in the middle with more of a mayo-mustard sauce, and that’s the version I personally prefer. Of course, this could have something to do with my near obsession with mayonnaise, Duke’s in particular of course! (In another lifetime, I was even on a Duke’s commercial, seriously!)

So, here is my platonic ideal of a white remoulade sauce and a very simple recipe for boiled shrimp to accompany! But the remoulade is also delicious as a substitute for tartar sauce to accompany any and all fried seafood.

To pair, you could definitely go down two of my favorite wine paths – White Burgundy or Chenin Blanc! Or you could venture out and try something different like a mineral driven white from Sicily (an island off the southern coast of Italy). See photo below of one I always enjoy – Terre Nere Etna Bianco. This is a blend of native white grapes (Carricante, Catarratto, Inzolia, Grecanico, Minnella) grown on the slopes of Mt. Etna (an active volcano!).

Shrimp Remoulade Salad

1 cup mayonnaise (preferably Duke’s!)

2 tablespoons creole mustard, or other whole grain mustard

2 tablespoons horseradish (the pure version – not the “sauce” version that contains sugar; the pure version is usually found refrigerated at the grocery)

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

½ teaspoon Tabasco, or other hot sauce 

1 pound boiled shrimp, see recipe below

1 cup finely chopped celery (about 5 celery stalks)

Head of butter lettuce 

Finely sliced radish/cucumber and quartered tomato (optional garnish)

Combine first six ingredients in a bowl and stir until thoroughly mixed.

Add boiled shrimp and celery and stir gently to combine. (At this point you could also add some finely chopped Italian parsley if you desire, but I enjoy the simplicity of serving without an herbal flavor.)

Spoon the salad atop leaves of butter lettuce and garnish with radish, cucumber, and/or tomato if you like. Halves of soft boiled eggs could also be a nice garnish!

Yield: 4 appetizer portions 

(This recipe can easily be doubled. I would just keep the same proportions of seasonings in the boiled shrimp recipe below. Just double the shrimp and use a bit more water – no need to double the seasonings in the shrimp boil.) 

SIMPLE BOILED SHRIMP:

3 quarts water 

¼ cup kosher salt

2 teaspoons black pepper corns

2 teaspoons coriander seeds

2 teaspoons fennel seeds 

1 teaspoon cayenne 

1 lemon, halved and juiced into pot

2 bay leaves

1 whole garlic head, top sliced off 

Bundle of fresh thyme, tied with kitchen twine 

1 pound, peeled and deveined shrimp 

Combine all ingredients except shrimp in a medium-large pot (nothing massive in size is necessary) over high heat. Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer for 15 minutes. 

Bring back to a boil and add shrimp. Cook until just pink, just a few minutes. 

Pour into a large colander placed in your kitchen sink. Then transfer shrimp to a baking dish and refrigerate until cold. Pick off spices/herbs before adding to the remoulade sauce.

Optional Step – Dry Brining Shrimp

I mentioned this in an earlier post as a great trick to achieve the perfect texture in your cooked shrimp. Simply toss raw shrimp with 1 teaspoon kosher salt and a good pinch (like ½ teaspoon) baking soda. Refrigerate for an hour before cooking.

P.S. I know I call for some more esoteric spices here like coriander and fennel seeds, but I promise they come in handy! Also a great source for really outstanding herbs/spice is Mountain Rose Herbs, based out of Oregon but sourcing organic, fair trade ingredients from around the world. I especially recommend their black peppercorns – you will never go back, trust me! 

P.P.S. For your music pairing…of course there is SO much amazing New Orleans music, but perhaps you might have missed out on the legendary Allen Toussaint. In some ways he had more fame as a songwriter rather than a performer, but he deserves just as much recognition for his own albums – check them out!