Shrimp Creole

Shrimp Creole is the Creole sauce in its most celebrated application — Gulf shrimp simmered briefly in a rich tomato sauce with the trinity, cayenne, garlic, bay leaf, and thyme, served over rice. It is the dish that most directly connects New Orleans Creole cooking to its Spanish colonial ancestor: a tomato-based shellfish stew that could sit comfortably alongside Spanish *gambas en salsa* or Portuguese *camarões moçambicanos*. Lena Richard's 1940 recipe — in the first nationally published cookbook by a Black American in the 20th century — established the template. Leah Chase's version at Dooky Chase was slightly different (more pepper, less tomato), and the two matriarchs' versions represent the two poles of the dish: tomato-forward (Richard) and pepper-forward (Chase).

Large Gulf shrimp — shells on or off, depending on tradition and formality — in a thick, brick-red Creole tomato sauce served over a mound of steamed long-grain white rice. The shrimp should be just curled and pink — barely cooked through, still snapping when bitten. The sauce should coat the shrimp thickly and pool around the rice.

Over steamed long-grain rice. Hot sauce on the table. French bread for the sauce. A green salad with a vinaigrette to cut the tomato richness. White wine — a Muscadet, an Albariño, or a dry rosé — pairs better with shrimp Creole than beer because the tomato and acid in the dish want a wine with matching acidity.