Description
Shrimp gumbo, Puerto Rican style
Ingredients
Group A
- 1 lb fresh- or salt-water shrimp, shelled and deveined
- the juice from a small green lemon (or 2 tbsp bottled lemon extract)
Group B
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium sized onion, diced
- 1 green pepper, diced
- 2 tbsp crushed garlic
- 1 cup (1 small) tomato, diced
- 2 tsp cilantro leaves, diced
- 1 bay leaf
- salt to taste (just a pinch for salt-water shrimp, about 1 tsp for fresh-water shrimp)
- cloves to taste
- ginger to taste
Group C
- 4 cups water
- 1½ cups raw, uncooked medium rice
- 1 cup potatoes, diced (optional; if using, add more salt)
- 1 red pepper, sliced
Directions
- Rinse the shrimp.
- Baste with the lemon extract.
- Let stand.
- Add the salt, cloves and ginger to three cups of water in a deep sauce pan.
- Bring to a boil.
- Sieve through a colander to remove the remnants of the spices.
- In a deep cooking dish, place two tablespoonfuls of olive oil and heat for about one minute.
- Saute onion, pepper and diced cilantro for under a minute, add garlic, tomato and bay leaf, saute another minute.
- Add the water and bring to a boil.
- Add the rice and bring the heat down to medium.
- Cook over medium heat, covered, for around twenty minutes.
- If the pot is not deep enough, it is likely to boil over, so uncover it often, stir, and let some steam out to prevent it.
- Add the shrimp, diced potatoes and red peppers.
- Cook for another ten minutes.
- Serrve hot, preferably with tostones de plátano.