Caribbean Shrimp & Sausages
Serves 4
I love the combination of shrimp and sausage and here I went in with the idea of something Caribbean or New Orleans-style.
The shrimp was covered in jerk spices (you can buy a spice mix or approximate one with other spices you have on hand) and I chose Andouille sausage, a New Orleans staple. Next came the side dish.
I had some coconut cream on hand, so that became the inspiration. After a soffrito of red peppers, poblano peppers, scallions and ginger was cooked down, I added the rice, chicken stock and a small pinch of cayenne pepper. When finished, I added the juice and zest of one lime and two tablespoons of coconut cream.
For a garnish, I put together a mango salsa that added fresh red and poblano pepper, and lime juice.
By using the peppers both as the base for the rice and fresh in the salsa and using lime in both dishes I was able to tie the flavors together in a way that made sense and didn’t compete with each other. The contrasting flavors were the coconut and jerk spices that added a special element to the dish. Enjoy!
Ingredients
Skewers:
1 lb shrimp (peeled and deveined)
4 andouille sausage links (pre-cooked), cut into ½ inch slices
Jerk seasoning
Rice:
2 T olive oil
½ cup scallions, sliced
½ cup red pepper, diced
½ cup poblano pepper, diced
1 T ginger, diced
½ t salt
1 cup rice
Pinch cayenne pepper
Chicken broth or water for rice (cook according to directions)
Lime, juice and zest
2 T coconut cream
Salsa:
1 mango, diced
¼ cup red pepper, diced
¼ cup poblano pepper, diced
Lime juice
Preparation
Toss the shrimp together with the jerk spices. Arrange the shrimp on skewers.
Arrange sausage on skewers.
Prepare your broiler* and move the oven shelf about 4 inches from the heating element.
Sauté the peppers and scallions, ginger, salt and cayenne in olive oil on medium low heat until soft, about 5 minutes.
Add rice and broth. Raise heat to medium high and bring to boil.
Reduce heat to low, cover and cook according to rice directions.
Prepare salsa by combining ingredients and set aside.
Place skewers under the broiler and cook 5 minutes per side. Set aside.
Stir coconut cream and lime juice/zest into rice and arrange on plates.
Divide the shrimp and sausage among plates.
Spoon salsa over the dish and serve.
Alternatively you could prepare this on a grill or a sauté pan.
Chris Chisholm is a Certified Specialist of Wine and a graduate of Boston University Wine Studies and Wine Making programs. He is also a graduate of Cook Street School of Culinary Arts in Denver, CO. He has worked as a personal chef and chef instructor.
If you have any questions, email Chris at chris@snugharborwine.com. You can also follow Chris on Instagram @winechefchris for more delicious food photos!