Cajan Shrimp

Cajan cooking is from the Louisiana area, and developed from a mix of the Acadians, Native Americans, Spanish and West African cuisine. The Acadians ended up in Louisiana when the British deported them from Canada starting in 1755. At that time France was ruled by King Louis XV, but the French had already claimed a piece of the United States, and called it Louisiana for King Louis XIV, thus Louisiana is named after King Louis of France. The Cajun style of cooking emerged out of the mixing of the various cultures and available ingredients. Louisiana has an extensive coastline and marshes that are filled with abundant wild caught shrimp, thus making shrimp an important part of their diet. Serve this dish with your choice of rice, pasta, cooked vegetables, mashed potatoes, salad or grits. Grits are a porridge of coarsely ground corn, made with water or milk. Cajun desserts could be an icebox lemon pie or a sweet potato pie. Sweet potato pie tastes much like our home-made pumpkin pie.

Shrimp is a great source of protein, with other nutrients such as selenium, iodine, vitamin B12 and Omega 3 fat. The outside of all of our cells are covered in a membrane made up of fat, and Omega 3 fat is very beneficial to the terrain of all of our cells. Both onions and garlic are anti – inflammatory and also offer a reduced risk of cancer with regular consumption. They also aid in stabilizing blood sugar and help to prevent the increase of fat cells. To get the maximum benefit from both garlic and onions, allow then to sit for 5-10 minutes after chopping or crushing for their beneficial enzymes to fully activate. Italian seasoning is a blend of several different herbs commonly used in Italian cooking. Many of the herbs found in Italian seasoning are some of the very best for health benefits, including anti-fungal oregano, anti-bacterial thyme and anti-inflammatory sage, basil and rosemary. The spice mix used in this recipe is typical for Cajun seasoning including the garlic. This dish is full of flavour with a mild amount of heat.

Cajun Shrimp

2 tablespoons butter

3 – 4 clove s garlic, finely chopped

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon flaked onion, or onion

powder

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning or

thyme

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

27 – 35 large shrimp

2 tablespoons cream

Melt the butter in a heavy bottomed fry pan on medium heat and salute the garlic a few minutes. Add in the shrimp. If they are raw, cook covered until pink, occasionally stirring. If they are precooked, add them into the pan, and cook until heated through. Combine all the seasonings in a small bowl and mix well. Add the seasonings to the shrimp mixture. Stir and simmer to heat through. Add the cream and stir.