More Shrimp

When I made the Roasted Broccoli and Shrimp, I defrosted a whole 2-pound bag of shrimp. Roasting all of them seemed to be a bit too much, so I only used half. The other half went into this delicious chowder. Hey, I just added two stunning entries to my shrimp repertoire!

Of course, I wasn't going to throw away half of the shrimp shells and use only the rest for the shrimp broth. This might have made my broth more flavorful, but I'm certain that half of the shells would have been adequate as well. This was based on Pete Wells' Red Shrimp Chowder with Corn recipe. Are you the type to run out and buy all the ingredients for a recipe? Well, good for you! Unless I planned way ahead, which I seldom do, I'm too lazy for that, so I often improvise. Luckily, Pete's recipe is so good that even with all my changes, it was still wonderful with the sweet and tender shrimp chunks, thick and hearty vegetables, and savory and aromatic broth. A perfect one pot meal for a cold winter night! My only complaint is that it took over 2 hours to make with all that boil and simmer, boil and simmer, boil and simmer. I often underestimate the cooking time, so this meant a very late dinner, though an extremely satisfying one that was totally worth the wait.

Red Shrimp Chowder with Corn

Serves 4 to 6

4 cups water
1 pound shrimp, shelled, chopped into pieces roughly ½ inch thick, shells reserved
2 cans of corn kernels
1 tsp dried basil
4 slices thick cut bacon (about 4 oz), cut into ½ inch pieces
2 small Spanish onions, cut into ½ inch dice
4 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
3 carrots, peeled and cut into ½ inch dice
1 parsnip, peeled and cut into ½ inch dice
Salt
1 pound potatoes, peeled and cut into ½ inch chunks
1 bay leaf
1 14-ounce can whole tomatoes, chopped, juice reserved
Freshly ground black pepper

1. In a medium pot, bring the water, shrimp shells and basil to a boil, simmer for about 20 minutes.
2. In a large pot set over medium heat, fry the bacon. When the bacon is crisp, fish it out with a slotted spoon and set it aside. Saute the onions, garlic, parsnip and carrots in the fat until softened, about 10 minutes. Season with salt.
3. Strain the shrimp-flavored broth into the pot. Add the potatoes and the bay leaf. Bring to a boil, cover the pot, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Using the back of a wooden spoon, crush a third to a half of the potato chunks against the side of the pot. Stir in the chopped tomatoes and juice, return to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes more.
5. Add the shrimp, stir well, taste and adjust the seasoning, adding salt and black pepper to taste. (The shrimp will cook from the heat of the soup.) Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with some bacon.