Chorizo Dirty Rice with Cajun Fried Shrimp

Ingredients

· 1 ½ cups of chicken broth

· 1 cup of rice (jasmine or basmati)

· 2 tablespoons of olive oil

· ½ medium yellow onion, diced

· ½ medium red bell pepper, diced

· 1 medium green bell pepper, diced

· 2 celery stalks, diced

· 2 garlic cloves, minced

· 1 lb of ground chorizo

· 2 tbsp of non-salted butter

· Cajun seasoning

· Garlic & herb seasoning

· Cayenne pepper (optional)

· Frying Oil (Peanut, Canola, Vegetable)

· 1 cup of corn meal

· 2 eggs, whisked

· 1 lb of shrimp

· ¾ cups of Italian parsley

Instructions

· In a medium saucepan, bring chicken broth to a boil on medium high heat. Add rice.

· Reduce heat to low and cover. Cook for 18-20 minutes or until rice is tender. Remove from heat.

· In a large skillet or Dutch oven, heat olive oil on medium high heat.

· Add onion and peppers. Sauté until soft, 3-5 minutes.

· Mix in celery and garlic. Sauté for an additional 2 minutes. (Stir regularly to keep vegetables from over charring)

· Add in chorizo. Cook until browned through, 5-7 minutes. Crumble by stirring as it cooks. Mix well with vegetables.

· Reduce heat to medium. Mix rice into pork mixture. Add butter then season to taste with Cajun seasoning and garlic & herb. (Go lite on seasoning as pork has plenty of natural sodium). Cook until all ingredients are well blended, 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat.

· In a deep fryer or Dutch oven, heat 3 inches of frying oil to 350 degrees or medium high heat.

· Season shrimp and corn meal to taste with Cajun seasoning and garlic & herb seasoning. Add cayenne pepper for additional spice if desired.

· Dredge shrimp, tails excluded, into the egg mixture then into the cornmeal mixture. Repeat until all shrimp are battered.

· Fry shrimp in small batches in frying oil until cooked through, 1 – 2 minutes. Allow shrimp to rest on paper towels immediately after frying. Repeat until all shrimp are fried.

· Plate rice mixture with shrimp on top. Garnish with fresh parsley. Serve.