Ratatouille With Shrimp And Okra Food

EASY RATATOUILLE RECIPE

Steps:

• Place eggplant pieces in a large colander over your sink. Sprinkle with salt. Leave for 20 minutes as the eggplant sweats out its bitterness. Pat dry to remove water and excess salt.
• In a large heavy pot or Dutch Oven, heat 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil over medium heat until shimmering but not smoking. Add the onions. Cook, stirring regularly, until translucent (about 5 minutes). Now add the red peppers and green peppers, cook for another 4 minutes, and continue to stir.
• Add the garlic, tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, wine, and fresh thyme springs. Stir in black pepper, paprika, and rosemary. Season with kosher salt.
• Raise the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil for 5 minutes, stirring once or twice. Turn the heat down then cover and cook over low heat for 20 minutes or so.
• Remove the ratatouille from the heat. Taste and adjust seasoning to your liking. Add the sherry vinegar and a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Top with fresh basil.
• To serve, transfer the ratatouille to dinner bowls, top each with a fried egg (sunny-side up) and add crusty bread on the side. (See Cook's Tip)

SHRIMP RATATOUILLE

Steps:

• Cut eggplant into 1/2-inch thick slices, then into chunks. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon salt and let stand 30 minutes. Dry thoroughly.
• Peel and slice onions. Core both peppers and cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Peel the tomatoes and cut into coarse cubes.
• Heat oil in a large frying pan and saute onions and garlic for 2 minutes.
• Add peppers and cook for 2 minutes more.
• Add eggplant and brown lightly on both sides, about 3 minutes.
• Add zucchini, tomatoes, thyme, oregano, bay leaf, and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer gently, uncovered, for 40 minutes. Stir often to baste vegetables with liquid while cooking.
• Add shrimp and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat, and simmer for 3 minutes.
• Remove from heat and remove bay leaf. Serve over hot cooked rice.

OKRA RATATOUILLE

Steps:

• In a large skillet with deep sides, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
• First, add the garlic and onion and cook, stirring often, until the onions are softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Next, add the zucchini, okra, and tomatoes. Stir until coated with the olive oil and garlic and cook for 5 minutes.
• Stir in the herbs and season with salt and pepper. Lower the heat and cook until the okra are tender, 6 to 8 minutes more.

KARDEA'S OKRA SOUP WITH SHRIMP

Steps:

• For the shrimp broth: Put the shrimp shells, carrots, celery, onions, butter, salt, bay leaf and 10 cups water in a large pot. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for about 45 minutes, making sure to skim off and discard any impurities that rise to the top. Strain the liquid, reserving 3 cups of the broth for the okra soup. Reserve the additional broth for another use.
• For the okra soup: Heat a large gumbo pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add the olive oil, garlic, onions, green peppers and 1 tablespoon of the butter and saute until the vegetables soften. Next, add the corn, lima beans and Roma tomatoes and mix together. Add the canned diced tomatoes and reserved 3 cups shrimp broth, stir, cover, bring to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes.
• While the soup is simmering, melt the remaining tablespoon of butter in a medium skillet, add the reserved shrimp and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the shrimp begin to turn pink. Add the okra, ground ginger and lemon juice, stir to mix and then cook until the okra and shrimp are cooked through.
• Once the soup has simmered for 20 minutes, add the shrimp and okra mixture to the soup. Cover and cook for an additional 10 minutes. Stir the soup, then serve over rice (or enjoy it without rice).

SAZóN-SPICED SHRIMP AND OKRA

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add half of the okra, cut sides down, and cook without stirring until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt, toss and cook until tender, about 1 minute more. Transfer to a plate. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in the skillet and repeat the cooking process with remaining okra and an additional 1/2 teaspoon salt.
• Lower the heat to medium and heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in the skillet (no need to wash). Add the onion and cook, stirring, until softened, about 1 minute. Add the garlic and jalapeño and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the shrimp and sprinkle with the sazón. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the shrimp are just cooked through and the sazón toasts and becomes fragrant, about 3 minutes.
• Return the okra to the pan of shrimp and stir just to combine. Remove from the heat, add the cilantro and finish with several squeezes of lime.

SHRIMP WITH RED PEPPER BROTH AND RATATOUILLE

Steps:

• Make the broth: Place peppers, shallots, garlic, and a pinch of salt in a medium stockpot over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring, until vegetables are translucent, about 5 minutes.
• Increase the heat to medium-high; add wine, and bring to a boil. Cook until reduced by two-thirds, about 4 minutes. Add enough water to come up to the level of the peppers. Bring to a simmer. Stir in the star anise, clove, and bay leaves; cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, and add thyme. Let stand until room temperature; strain through a damp cheesecloth-lined sieve. You should have about 2 cups. Refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour. When cold, season with salt.
• Make the ratatouille: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Prepare an ice-water bath; set aside. Cut an x in the bottom of each tomato, and cut out the cores with a paring knife. Drop tomatoes in boiling water, and cook until skins begin to loosen, about 30 seconds. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to ice-water bath until cool enough to handle. Peel off and discard skins. Cut tomatoes in half lengthwise, and remove seeds. Cut tomatoes into a very small dice; set aside.
• In a small skillet, heat about 2 teaspoons oil over medium-high heat. Add 1/5 of the shallot, and 1/5 of the garlic. Cook until translucent. Add the tomato; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until soft, about 1 minute. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined baking sheet to drain. Repeat with remaining shallots, garlic, and vegetables, cooking each vegetable separately.
• Combine the cooked, drained, and cooled eggplant, yellow squash, zucchini, and bell pepper in a medium bowl. Add just enough of the tomato to bind the mixture together. Stir in the herbs. Season with salt and pepper; set aside.
• In a small saucepan, bring 1 cup of the broth to a simmer. Add shrimp, and remove from heat. Let stand until room temperature. Transfer to refrigerator until chilled, about 30 minutes. Remove and drain on a paper-towel-lined plate.
• Place a spoonful of ratatouille in the bottom of two soup bowls. Top each with 2 shrimp. Garnish each bowl with a sprig of thyme. Pour 1/2 cup remaining chilled broth into each bowl. Serve immediately.

SHRIMP AND OKRA

Steps:

• Heat oil over medium heat in a deep, heavy pot until very hot.
• Add onion and sautee until translucent.
• Add thyme leaves, bay leaves, and garlic and stir frequently so as not to scorch the garlic about 1 minute.
• Add tomatoes and water, and heat until the edges begin to boil.
• Add the frozen okra and stir.
• Cover the pot.
• Heat about 5 minutes and check, stirring to prevent sticking and to heat through.
• Okra will be"done" when it turns bright green in color.
• Taste for salt and pepper and correct at this point.
• When the okra is bright green, add the shrimp, stirring to combine.
• Cover again and heat about 5 minutes.
• Uncover, and stir again checking for"doneness".
• The dish will be"done" when shrimp is opaque and firm.
• Serve over hot rice.
• Please note that the water measurement is approximate you may need to add a little more to get a thinner consistency.
• Also, I watch my salt intake so I seldom add it to my recipes, so feel free to add it.
• This dish tastes great with a dash or two of hot pepper sauce.