Cajun shrimp and corn soup
A Louisiana favorite: sweet corn and plump shrimp in a spicy, tomatoey broth built on a quick golden roux and the holy trinity.
- 55 min total
- 40 min hands-on
- A little more hands-on
- Serves 4
- About $4.18 a serving
- 340 calories
Dolly says: Read the steps once before you start. Everything goes smoother after that.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tbsp butter
- 2 tsp Cajun seasoning
- 1 can diced tomatoes and green chiles, with the juice
- 2 chicken bouillon cubes, check the box: most cubes make 2 cups each
- 3 cups frozen corn
- 1 lb raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 3 green onions, sliced
- 1 tsp hot sauce (optional)
From your pantry
- 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp dried thyme
- 4 cups water
- 1 bay leave
Each serving has about 340 calories, 29 g protein, 38 g carbs and 10 g fat, and costs about $4.18 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No green bell peppers? Red bell peppers or yellow bell peppers work.
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No frozen corn? Canned corn works.
- No raw shrimp? Frozen raw shrimp works.
- No green onions? Chives work.
- No hot sauce? Sriracha works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the onion, bell pepper and celery and the garlic. If your shrimp still have tails, pull them off.
Dice. Dicing means cutting food into small, even cubes, usually a quarter to half an inch across. Pieces the same size cook at the same speed, so nothing burns while the rest catches up.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are little cubes about the size of a chickpea, and they all look close to the same.
Mince. Mincing means chopping something into the tiniest pieces you can, smaller than a grain of rice. Tiny pieces melt into the dish, so you get the flavor without biting into a chunk of garlic.
How you’ll know: Every piece is tiny and about the same size, and the pile starts to look almost like a paste.
the butter in a large pot over medium heat and in the flour. Cook, stirring constantly, for 6 to 8 minutes, until it’s the color of peanut butter.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Medium heatTimer: 7 min
Dolly’s tip: Keep stirring and scraping the bottom. If you see dark flecks, it’s burning: turn the heat down right away.Add the onion, bell pepper and celery and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes, until soft. Stir in the garlic, Cajun seasoning and thyme for 30 seconds.
Medium heatTimer: 5 min 30 sec
Slowly whisk in the water, then add the bouillon cubes, tomatoes with green chiles and bay leaf and over high heat.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
Stir in the corn, turn the heat to low and for 15 minutes, until slightly .
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Thicken. Thickening means cooking a sauce or soup until it’s less runny, by simmering it down or adding something like cornstarch. A thicker sauce clings to food instead of pooling on the plate.
How you’ll know: It coats the back of a spoon, and a line drawn through it with your finger holds its shape.
Low heatTimer: 15 min
Add the shrimp and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes, just until they turn pink and curl.
Low heatTimer: 3 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: Take the pot off the heat the moment the shrimp are pink. They keep cooking in the hot soup.Food safety: Shrimp are done when they turn pink and opaque all the way through and curl into a loose C. A tight O means overcooked, not unsafe.
Pull out the bay leaf, taste for salt and heat, and serve with green onions and hot sauce.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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