Not-so Gumbo

I never thought that red peppers could be so good! Normally eating a red pepper leaves a strange carrot-y acidic taste in my mouth. Today, having the red peppers roasted and then blended into a sauce was in a word, delectable. Combined with the white wine and dijon mustard flavors on the sausage and prawns it made for a sweet and deep smoky flavor.

This was a must-have recipe for a chilly day, and was a great addition to what seems to be a "comfort-food" week. I didn't follow the recipe in full today, I embarked out on my own. Though I made some personal changes, I think that the recipe followed the overall flavour palate that the recipe originally implied. Though I've given credit to the recipe below, the directions will be how I cooked it today.



Shrimp and Sausage with Red Rice
From the Williams-Sonoma Grilling & Roasting Cookbook.

1/2 cup apricot preserves
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
16 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 1/3 cups long grain white rice
2 2/3 cups water
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 large red peppers, roasted, peeled, seeded and chopped
4 green onions, separated into white and green parts
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup white wine
4 sweet italian sausages (3/4 lb)
parsley to garnish
1. In rice cooker or other vessel toast the rice then combine with water and cook till all water is absorbed. Keep warm.
2. While rice is cooking, combine butter and white parts of green onion in saucepan. Cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes or until onions soften.
3. Add red pepper to saucepan, along with chicken stock and chili powder. Allow to cook for 3-5 minutes until peppers are softened.
4. Pour ingredients of saucepan to blender and blend into smooth sauce. Return ingredients to pan and allow to simmer on the stove.
5. In small skillet, pour in white wine. Add sausages and cook till done throughout.
6. Move sausages to plate, chop, and add to red pepper sauce.
7. In same pan used for sausages, add oil, lemon juice, preserves, mustard and dash of stock or water to blend evenly. Cook shrimp in mixture till slightly opaque.
8. In bowl combine red pepper and sausage sauce with rice and shrimp. Toss in green onion tops and parsley to garnish.

An easy and filling recipe. Instead of the sweet sausages, i used the chicken and spinach sausages that we bought last weekend. I think they really added to the overall dish taste. This recipe is supposed to serve 4, but its more like 6 or 7 servings. I had more than enough for Staci and I to take for lunch tomorrow.

Try it! You might like it...or maybe you'll order pizza.