The Shrimp Truck

There is a truck – the shrimp truck – that loads up with shrimp and other seafood goodness at the coast about once per month, drives straight through the night and ends up in the Fox Cities, in a True Value parking lot. He sells some of the best, most fresh, seafood I’ve ever had in my life.

We hit up the truck for shrimp a few times per year. Yesterday was one of those days. We bought a pound – yes only a pound, it feels silly to freeze it – and we then brainstormed up all the things we could make with the shrimp. We settled on this:

Spicy Cajun Shrimp Soup

What you’ll need:
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/4 cup sliced green onions
1 finely chopped jalapeno pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups tomato-vegetable juice cocktail
1 (8 ounce) bottle clam juice
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon Cajun seasoning (I used Penzey’s brand)
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup uncooked long-grain white rice
3/4 pound fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined
hot pepper sauce to taste

Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Saute  peppers, onions, and garlic until tender. Stir in vegetable juice, clam juice, and water. Season with thyme, basil, red pepper, bay leaf, and salt. Bring to a boil, and stir in rice. Reduce heat, and cover. Simmer 15 minutes, until rice is tender.

Stir in shrimp, and cook 5 minutes, or until shrimp are opaque. Remove the bay leaf, and season with hot sauce.

It was the perfect comfort food. We cuddled up on the couch and ate the hot (temperature) and spicy hot soup until our bellies were full and satisfied. And then did the same thing again three hours later.

It thickens as it sits. We are considering adding andouille sausage to the leftovers and calling it a whole new thing.