Nate Figaro’s Shrimp and Egg Stew Recipe

Southern So-Fish-Tication

Every good home cook has a few recipes in their arsenal for fish and seafood lovers. The right meal can make for an elevated date night in or impress the pickiest of pescatarian eaters. With coastal flavors that incorporate a Southern spin, these dishes are off the hook!

Photography by Rich Smith

“Shrimp and egg stew is a Creole recipe that my grandfather would cook for the family. He’d start with a good dark roux and then add the holy trinity, shrimp, and eggs. What made the dish stand so special was the dark roux and the locally bought shrimp. It’s a dish I cook during the fall and winter months and always takes me back to my time in Louisiana. When it comes to making this dish, don’t throw away the shrimp shells after you’ve peeled your shrimp. You can use them with carrots, lemon, celery, and bay leaves to make a seafood stock that’ll really help elevate any dish. Also, when you make a roux, use a fat or oil with a high smoke point such as vegetable or peanut oil. Oils like olive oil and extra virgin olive oil will give your roux an off-putting taste.”

Shrimp and Egg Stew

Nate Figaro

Print Recipe

Course Main Course

Cuisine Creole, Seafood, Southern

Servings 8 servings

Ingredients

3 lbs. raw shrimp, shelled and deveined
Shrimp stock (recipe below)
3 Tbsp. olive oil
8 eggs
3 Tbsp. dry roux
1 cup Holy Trinity mix (onion, bell pepper, celery)
1 Tbsp. 8020 Creole BBQ rub
Tony Chachere's seasoning, to taste
Rice, for serving

For the shrimp stock:

3 cups shrimp shells with heads
1 onion, quartered
1 lemon, quartered
3 bay leaves
3 cups water

Instructions

For the shrimp stock:

Peel and devein the shrimp used in the stew, making sure to reserve 3 cups of shells and heads.
Heat a medium-sized pot to medium-high heat.
Pour shrimp shells and heads into pot with onion, lemon, and bay leaves, and stir until shells become pink.
Add water and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for 40 minutes.
Remove stock from stove and pour through a fine mesh strainer.
Set stock aside.

For the stew:

Bring a large pot to medium-high heat, and add oil coating the bottom of the pot.
In another pot, add water, bring to a boil, and then add eggs. Cook eggs for 10-15 minutes over high heat.
Once the oil in the large pot is hot, add roux. Stir roux and oil continuously until you have a sauce the color of dark chocolate.
Add in Holy Trinity mix and continue to stir until evenly combined with roux.
Add 1 cup of shrimp stock, and stir until the gravy starts to thicken. Add more liquid as needed, and season with 8020 Creole BBQ rub and Tony Chachere’s seasoning.
Peel eggs and cut into halves and place in stew. The egg yolks will thicken the gravy as well. Gently stir, as you don’t want to dissolve all of the egg yolk in the gravy. Add a little water if gravy becomes too thick.
Set heat to medium-high and add shrimp, stirring occasionally. Cook for 15 minutes or until shrimp become pink.
Serve stew overrice.

Keyword eggs, rice, roux, Seafood, shrimp, stew

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Southern So-Fish-Tication

Shrimp and Egg Stew

Ingredients

For the shrimp stock:

Instructions

For the shrimp stock:

For the stew:

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