Cajun Shrimp Soup

I remember having a soup like this as a kid and not thinking too much of it.  It wasn’t very exciting, maybe even kind of boring.  All of a sudden a couple weeks ago I got the memory of this soup in my head.  It was small, kind of a passing “hey, I remember that, I should make it” as I picked up some shrimp on sale.  But it slowly grew and grew and then this weekend my pregnancy stomach brain needed this soup!  And this is the end result.  Maybe not exactly how I had it as a kid, but even better than my memory of it.  Even my hubby loved this enough to have seconds and to ask me to make it again.

We don’t often have shrimp.  They aren’t exactly in the budget on a regular basis so when I notice them on sale I get some because we all enjoy them.  This will definitely be one of my go-to shrimp recipes from now on!  I actually prefer it with more rice to make it somewhat stew-like, but just add as much or as little to get the consistency you’d like.  As you can tell I enjoyed mine with a piece of crusty whole wheat bread.  And it was amazing 😀

Just a note on the spiciness – obviously it’s spicy.  It is Cajun after all – but if you’re not a huge fan of spiciness or want to be able to share with the kids, still consider making this!  I actually make my own Cajun seasoning and greatly reduce the cayenne.  I also mentioned an alternative to the hot sauce in the recipe and if you do choose to make it that way you can omit any extra cayenne which will reduce the spiciness(just don’t omit the vinegar, it needs the tanginess!).  Or you can always choose to add the hot sauce to your own bowl as desired, so you can share the pot of soup with any little ones that might not like the heat.

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Cajun Shrimp Soup

Author Erin Dooner

Servings 4

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 25 minutes mins

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 tbsp butter
• ▢ 1 medium sized onion thinly sliced
• ▢ 3 cloves garlic roughly chopped or sliced
• ▢ 1 32 oz jar tomatoes or tomato puree about 4 C or a quart sized jar
• ▢ 2 tbsp dried parsley or a 1/4C fresh parsley plus more to garnish
• ▢ 1 tbsp honey
• ▢ 1 large bay leaf
• ▢ 2 tsp - 1 tbsp Cajun seasoning or less depending on your tolerance for spiciness
• ▢ sea salt to taste
• ▢ black pepper to taste
• ▢ 1 lb shrimp peeled and without tails
• ▢ 3 C cooked brown rice or more to make it more stew-like(I prefer short grain brown rice)
• ▢ 1 tbsp fresh basil
• ▢ 2 tbsp Franks RedHot Buffalo Wing Sauce or alternatively add a pinch or two or cayenne and a dash or two of apple cider vinegar

Instructions

• In a medium sized pot over medium heat, heat the butter. Once hot, add the onions and cook for 5-6 minutes while stirring until softened. Add the garlic, stir and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, parsley, honey, bay leaf, salt and pepper an
• d Cajun seasoning and bring up to a boil. Once boiling, turn down to a high simmer and cook for about 10 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and then puree the soup with an immersion blender, or by transferring it to a blender and blending until smooth. **Alternatively, if you don't have a way to blend the soup finely chop the onions and finely mince the garlic before cooking them and be sure to use tomato puree.
• Return the soup to the pot and add the previously cooked rice and shrimp to the pot. Bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer for just a couple minutes until the shrimp are completely cooked through, they should be completely pink and no grey parts remain. To the pot add the fresh basil and Franks Hot Sauce as desired. If you don't have the hot sauce, considering adding a couple pinches of cayenne and just enough apple cider vinegar to give the soup a tangy, sour taste. Serve hot, garnished with extra fresh parsley or basil and crusty bread if desired.

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Updated with new pictures June 4/2015.  These are some of the old pictures: