NEW ORLEANS — Over the course of its 300-year history, New Orleans’ cuisine has been one of its greatest gifts to the world. Now, as we celebrate the city’s 300th birthday and WWL-TV’s 60th anniversary, our gift to you is a free e-cookbook, with free summertime recipes.
This edition of our "360 In the Kitchen" cookbook series focuses on dishes that are perfect for the long, hot south Louisiana summer. Coping with the heat and humidity of a New Orleans summer has been a way of life here from the beginning. From salads and dishes with lighter sauces to icy cool desserts, our cookbook gives you some creative recipe ideas to try without sacrificing any of the flavor that New Orleans cooks are known for.
Creamy Cajun Shrimp and Sausage Pasta
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. large shrimp, peeled and deveined
- Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper (to taste)
- 1 tsp. Creole seasoning
- 1/2 tsp. dried Oregano
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 6 oz andouille sausage or smoked sausage, thinly sliced
- 10 oz. spaghetti or fettuccine pasta
- ½ yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 4 tsp. Cajun seasoning
- 1 tsp. brown sugar
- 2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
- ½ cup crushed tomatoes
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 Tbsp. parsley, chopped
- Kosher salt, and pepper to taste
Directions:
- Toss shrimp with salt, pepper, Creole seasoning and oregano, and coat well. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and drizzle bottom of pan with olive oil.
- Add shrimp and cook for 2 minutes. Flip shrimp over and cook another minute or two. Then remove to a plate and set aside. Drizzle pan with a little more olive oil, add sausage and brown until nicely caramelized, about 4 - 5 minutes. Remove to plate and set aside.
- Add pasta to salted boiling water and cook until al dente.
- Lower heat to medium and add a bit more olive oil to the pan, add the onion, red bell pepper, Cajun seasoning, brown sugar, and a generous pinch of salt. Sauté until onion and pepper have softened a bit, scraping up any browned bits that you can. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add crushed tomatoes, chicken broth and heavy cream. Bring to a simmer, stirring and scraping up any brown bits from bottom of pan, simmer a couple minutes.
- Once simmering, add Parmesan and stir into sauce. When Parmesan is blended in, add cooked pasta and sausage and stir to combine and heat through, 2 - 3 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste and then lastly, add shrimp.
- Serve with chopped parsley.
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More Recipes by Chef Kevin Belton:
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Watch Chef Kevin Belton every Tuesday morning on Eyewitness Morning News on WWL-TV and WUPL.