Mirliton Shrimp And Tasso Casserole Food

SHRIMP AND MIRLITON CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the mirlitons and cook until tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Remove from the heat, drain, and set aside to cool completely.
• Meanwhile, combine the shrimp with 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1 tablespoon Bayou Blast in a mixing bowl and toss to coat evenly. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
• When the mirlitons are cool, cut them in half lengthwise, remove the seeds, peel, and coarsely chop. Set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onions, bell peppers, and jalapeno. Add the remaining 1/2 tablespoon Bayou Blast and the thyme. Cook, stirring, until the vegetables are soft and lightly golden, 4 to 6 minutes.
• Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes. Add the mirlitons and cook, mashing them with a potato masher, until very tender and most of the liquid has evaporated, about 30 minutes. Add the shrimp, salt, black pepper, green onions, and parsley. Cook, stirring, until the shrimp turn pink, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat.
• Add the eggs, 1 cup of the bread crumbs, and the pepper sauce. Mix well. Spoon the mixture into a 9 by 13-inch casserole dish. Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the top, then sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of bread crumbs. Bake until the topping is lightly browned and bubbly, about 30 minutes. Serve warm.
• Combine all ingredients thoroughly.
• Recipe from "New New Orleans Cooking", by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch, published by William Morrow, 1993.

SHRIMP, TASSO, AND MIRLITON CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Spray a 2-quart baking dish with cooking spray.
• Place mirliton on prepared baking sheets, and coat with oil. Roast until lightly browned and tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°.
• In a large Dutch oven, heat butter over medium-high heat. Add tasso; heat until browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove tasso from pot, and set aside.
• Add yellow onion, green onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic to Dutch oven; sauté until vegetables are softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add roasted mirliton; crush about half of mirliton using a potato masher or fork. Cook over medium-high heat until mirliton has released its liquid and reduced slightly in volume, 13 to 15 minutes.
• Remove from heat. Stir in shrimp, bread crumbs, cream, eggs, thyme, Creole seasoning, and pepper. Spoon into prepared baking dish, and loosely cover with foil.
• Bake for 15 minutes.
• In a small bowl, stir together crackers and melted butter. Sprinkle casserole with cracker mixture and cheese, and bake until cheese is melted and filling is bubbly, about 25 minutes more. Garnish with green onion, if desired.

SHRIMP-STUFFED MIRLITONS

Steps:

• 1. Boil whole mirlitons in water until tender, about 40 minutes. Drain mirlitons in a colander and let stand until cool enough to handle. Split the mirlitons in half lengthwise, remove the seeds, and scoop the pulp into a bowl. Using a potato masher or fork, mash the mirliton pulp.
• 2. In a skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Saute onions, celery bell pepper, garlic, half the parsley, and the green onions. Cook 3 minutes. Add 4 more tablespoons butter and the shrimp. Saute just until shrimp turn pink. Add ham.
• 3. Add the mashed mirliton pulp to the skillet and stir until heated through. Add the bread to the mixture and stir to blend. Slowly pour the eggs into the skillet while stirring quickly. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in remaining parsley.
• 4.Spoon mirliton mixture into a baking dish. Sprinkle with bread crumbs or cracker crumbs and dot with remaining butter. bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes or until dish is set and nicely browned.

CAJUN SHRIMP MIRLITON CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Simmer mirlitons in water to cover by 2 inches in an 8-quart pot, partially covered, until very tender, about 1 hour. Drain mirlitons, then halve and peel, discarding pits. Coarsely chop in a food processor.
• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Cook onions and bell peppers in 6 tablespoons butter in a 6- to 7-quart wide heavy pot over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add garlic and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add mirlitons and cook, stirring occasionally, until most of liquid is evaporated, about 5 minutes. (Do not let vegetables brown.) Stir in cracker crumbs, shrimp, cayenne, and salt and pepper to taste and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Spoon into a shallow 3-quart baking dish and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Dot with remaining 2 tablespoons butter and bake in upper third of oven until crumbs are just golden, 12 to 15 minutes.

SHRIMP-STUFFED MIRLITONS

Steps:

• Cut mirlitons in half and scoop out the large seed in the middle. Boil in salted water to cover for 25 minutes, or until tender when punctured with the tines of a fork. Be careful not to overcook.
• Drain and cool for 15 minutes, then scrape out insides into a colander to drain. Leave 1/4 inch of flesh inside shell, being careful not to puncture skin.
• Chop drained mirliton flesh and add to a medium bowl. Mix in butter, lemon juice, parsley, salt, pepper, cayenne, Worcestershire sauce and 1/2 cup bread crumbs; set aside.
• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Heat oil in a medium saucepan or cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add onion, bell pepper and celery and sauté until almost translucent. Add garlic, green onion and tomatoes for just about 2 minutes. Add shrimp for 30 seconds to give them a touch of color. Quickly remove pan from heat and let it sit for 3 to 5 minutes to cool slightly. Fold sautéed ingredients into mirliton mixture.
• Scoop stuffing mixture into each mirliton half. Place mirliton in an oven-safe 1 1/2-inch deep pan. You may need two pans. Dust top of each mirliton evenly with remaining bread crumbs. Pour stock into pans to a half-inch depth, before covering and baking. Cover pans tightly with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until tops are lightly browned.

MIRLITON

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add mirliton, and boil until tender, about 45 minutes. Drain, cool, and peel. Cut in half, remove seeds, and cut into cubes.
• When the mirliton are almost done, bring another pot of water to a boil. Add shrimp, and cook for about 5 minutes, until pink. Drain shrimp, reserving the water for later. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C).
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry onion and garlic in the oil until soft. Transfer to a 9x13 inch baking dish. Add the shrimp, ham, and cubed mirliton. Beat the egg in a small dish with a tablespoon of the water from the shrimp; pour into the baking dish. Mix in the bread crumbs, parsley, thyme, salt and pepper until evenly blended. If it seems a little dry, add a little more water from the shrimp. You have the choice to freeze, refrigerate, or bake at this point. Sprinkle some more breadcrumbs on top if desired.
• Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown on top.