Shrimp Remoulade

This traditional New Orleans dish is great during a heat wave – or an average 95-degree summer day in Louisiana. Almost all the work is done by the food processor. It’s a favorite at Galatoire’s, where locals come in from the noonday heat to feast on cold seafood salad.

This recipe has been slightly northern-ized and modernized to incorporate more widely available ingredients (country Dijon instead of Creole mustard) – as well as my own preference for nice seasonal lettuce, not the shredded iceberg of yore.

Remember: support the American shrimping industry! Use wild-caught, domestic shrimp, which is strictly regulated compared to imported shrimp.

Shrimp Remoulade Recipe

For the remoulade:
1/2 c. Italian parsley
2 celery sticks
1/4 yellow onion
1 garlic clove
2 scallions
2/3 c. plain tomato sauce, like Muir Glen
1/4 c. grainy country Dijon mustard
3 tbsp. horseradish
2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. Hungarian hot paprika
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. cayenne
1/4 c. grapeseed oil or other neutral oil
2 lbs. wild caught domestic shrimp

For the salad:
8 large leaves Boston or Bibb lettuce
1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
squeeze of lemon
sea salt

For the remoulade, cut vegetables into large chunks and place in a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped. Combine the tomato sauce, mustard, horseradish, vinegar, sugar, salt, paprika, Worcestershire and cayenne and add to the food processor. Process the mixture for a few seconds while pouring in the grapeseed oil to create an emulsion; do not puree. Refrigerate the mixture for at least two hours.

Meanwhile, wash, peel and devein the shrimp. Put them in a large pot of boiling salted water and cover immediately. When the water reaches a boil again, the shrimp should be done – pink and curled. Remove them and refrigerate. An hour before serving, combine the remoulade mixture and the shrimp and refrigerate again.

To assemble the salad, wash the lettuce leaves and pat dry. Make a dressing out of the olive oil, lemon and salt to taste and toss with the leaves. Arrange the leaves on four plates, mound with the shrimp remoulade and top with freshly ground pepper.

Serves 4.

Adapted from Galatoire’s and The Plantation Cookbook of the Junior League of New Orleans.