Lighter Shrimp Étouffée

I don’t know about you, but it’s pretty cold where I am. And I’m down in Tennessee so if it’s cold for me, I know it’s lot colder for many others. When the temperatures get down this low all I want to eat are warm and comforting foods. I crave thick soups and stews or pot roast or chicken and dumplings. But it’s also January, and while I didn’t specifically make a New Year’s resolution to go on a diet, I definitely overindulged over the holidays and have been trying to eat better this month.

Thankfully, Cooking Light came to the rescue with their Comfort Food cookbook that I bought recently. Their Shrimp Etouffee is just the kind of warm and comforting dinner that I want when it’s below freezing outside but I can also feel good about eating it since the recipe has been lightened.

And the best part is that it doesn’t taste remotely low fat. It’s full of bold flavors and spices that will warm you from the inside out. I also like that the recipe still starts with a roux which makes it taste very authentic. If you’ve never made a roux before, it’s a simple mixture of butter and flour that forms base of this stew, thickening it as well as adding a depth of flavor. I had never made a real, cook-until-it’s-dark-brown, roux before this. It was a little intimidating at first since I was convinced it was burning, but in the end everything turned out fine. You shouldn’t worry either. It’s supposed to get that dark! In the recipe notes I linked to a nice set of photos that someone took of their roux as it cooked so you can see for yourself.

The ingredients list may be long but this Shrimp Etouffee recipe is a lot easier than it looks. The most time consuming parts are chopping up all the vegetables (which you could do ahead of time) and making the roux, otherwise you just need to add in ingredients and stir occasionally. At about an hour, it may not be the fastest dinner to make, but it’s definitely worth the time.

Get the recipe for Lighter Shrimp Étouffée »