Shrimp Boiled Dinner, Key West Style but #lowsodium

LUCY BURDETTE: Sometimes it's frustrating to try to make my old favorite recipes work in low so sodium versions. Some of them, I confess, don't work at all. But I had a feeling that my favorite Key West shrimp boil could be tweaked.

I certainly couldn't use the Tony Cachere's Creole seasoning that I loved in the recipe as it stands: 350 mg sodium per 1/4 teaspoon. And the recipe wants 5 tablespoons! The math makes my head spin.

So I determined to make a Creole-like seasoning that would be salt free.

Ingredients for Key West Boiled Dinner

• 1 lemon, quartered
• 5 tablespoons low sodium Creole seasoning (See below)
• 2-3 bay leaves
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled but left whole
• 1/2 to 1 pound fingerling potatoes (we used multicolored)
• 1 package sausage of your choice, cut into 2-3 inch lengths
• 1 package frozen corn on the cob
• 1 1/2 pounds large Key West pink shrimp in shell (Be careful with using frozen or non-local shrimp, as they are often soaked in brine)

Ingredients for low-sodium Creole flavoring 1 tablespoon onion powder One tablespoon garlic powder 1 tablespoon oregano 1 tablespoon basil 1 tablespoon thyme 1/2 tablespoon black pepper 1/2 tablespoon white pepper 1/2 tablespoon cayenne 3 tablespoons Paprika (I used smoked) 1/2 teaspoon dried mustard Mix all the spices together. That's it! If you want to make enough for more than one recipe, just double the amounts and save the extra in a cool dry place. (Don't miss Tonka's cameo:) Everything else can be prepared normally. Just leave the sausage for the guests. Oh, and I replaced the ketchup in the cocktail sauce with no-salt ketchup and upped the horseradish along with a splash of Tabasco. And I served no-salt mustard. From the looks of the leftovers, no one even noticed. Instructions for the dinner:

Bring a gallon of water to boil in a big pot. Squeeze the lemon into this, and drop in the lemon pieces, the garlic, the bay leaves, and the Creole seasoning. 
Simmer this together for a few minutes.

Meanwhile, wash the potatoes and rinse the shrimp. Add the potatoes to the water, simmer until almost soft. (About 10 minutes, depending on the size.) Add the sausage and corn, simmer a few minutes. Finally, add the shrimp, simmer until they turn quite pink--another 2-3 minutes.

Dump the whole pot into a colander, drain, and serve on a large platter.

Serve cocktail sauce (2/3 ketchup to 1/3 horseradish) and Dijon mustard on the side, along with a green salad or vegetable.

Everyone takes as much as they want and peels their own shrimp as they go.
 

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Key West Boiled #Dinner #Recipe @LucyBurdette

LUCY BURDETTE: One of the nice things about living in Key West is that good friends visit us, escaping from the dreariness of winter. We spent Valentine's Day with our friends Jane and Jack Novick, and it was lovely to remember how we all met, and what kind of food we made for each other's wedding receptions!

Of course we did go out one night, but we cooked in too. We wanted something not too fussy, but utterly delicious. I remembered a dish that Jane made for us some years ago, and we adapted it for this occasion. It's delish, but very little trouble! (It would be even better with fresh corn on the cob, but the frozen was not bad...and I promise I will make something besides shrimp next week.)

Ingredients for Key West Boiled Dinner

• 1 lemon, quartered
• 5 tablespoons Creole seasoning (like Tony Chachere's)
• 2-3 bay leaves
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled but left whole
• 1/2 to 1 pound fingerling potatoes (we used multicolored)
• 1 package sausage of your choice, cut into 2-3 inch lengths
• 1 package frozen corn on the cob
• 1 1/2 pounds large Key West pink shrimp in shell

Bring a gallon of water to boil in a big pot. Squeeze the lemon into this, and drop in the lemon pieces, the garlic, the bay leaves, and the Creole seasoning. 

Simmer this together for a few minutes.

Meanwhile, wash the potatoes and rinse the shrimp. Add the potatoes to the water, simmer until almost soft. (About 10 minutes, depending on the size.) Add the sausage and corn, simmer a few minutes. Finally, add the shrimp, simmer until they turn quite pink--another 2-3 minutes. 



Dump the whole pot into a colander, drain, and serve on a large platter. 

Serve cocktail sauce (2/3 ketchup to 1/3 horseradish) and Dijon mustard on the side, along with a green salad.  








Everyone takes as much as they want and peels their own shrimp as they go. 





Until you are left with...this!

Hang in there northerners--that horrible winter will pass! And July will come soon too, bringing the sixth Key West food critic mystery, FINAL RESERVATIONS. You can pre-order it here.

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