Cajun Shrimp and Andouille with California Avocado

A plate of this Cajun Shrimp and Andouille with Avocados will make your taste-buds sing with flavor. The shrimp, the Andouille, the California avocados and the heat of the sauce all play perfectly off of each other, bite after bite.

You can make this dish as spicy or as mild as you like, however the magic happens when you get a mouthful of spice followed by a bite of creamy avocado to cut the heat. Mmmm, it’s good.

Serve this Cajun Shrimp and Andouille with Avocados overt rice or pasta or simply eat it on its own with crusty bread to dip in the sauce. Serious yum!

I have yet to visit New Orleans. However I imagine this dish is one you might come across there. I dream of going, just to eat the food. Literally, I would wake up and plan my day based off of what foods I have heard of, read about or watched a chef from New Orleans create on TV. My mouth is watering as I type this at the thought, lol!

Heading to New Orleans for Mardi Gras would be really fun, however that would get in the way of my non-stop-food-tasting itinerary. I kid you not!

Something about the way people cook down there…the flavors, the history and the passion that go into their dishes beckons me to experience it. Hopefully 2017 is my year for that. In the meantime, I will try my best at home to come up with Cajun and Creole dishes – and this is a good one, combining the best of the south and the best of California – avocados!

If you make this for a crowd, make a double batch and season one robustly with heat and make the other more mild. That way you can accommodate every palate. And don’t forget the bread!

Cajun Shrimp and Andouille with California Avocado Recipe

Ingredients
5 Tbs. butter
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. minced fresh rosemary
1 cup white wine
3 cups chicken broth
3 Tbs. tomato paste
Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
1/2 lime, juiced
Grapeseed or olive oil, for sautéing
1 1/2 lbs. Andouille sausage
1 lb 21-25 sized shrimp or larger, raw, cleaned, peeled and tails off
Spicy Cajun Seasoning
2 ripe, fresh California Avocados, seeded, peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks

Instructions

1. In a medium sized pot, melt the butter. Mince your garlic, add it to the melted butter and cook for 1-2 minutes or until fragrant. Be careful not to brown the garlic.
2. Add in your rosemary, wine and chicken broth and stir until combined.
3. Add in the tomato paste and whisk it in until it’s incorporated.
4. Season with salt & pepper, taste and adjust for your preference.
5. Bring sauce to a simmer, remove from heat.
6. Slice your Andouille into bite-sized rounds.
7. Heat enough oil in a sauté pan to just cover the pan and sauté your sausage just until it gets some delicious color (it’s already cooked, so you just want it to get a little brown in color). Place pieces into your sauce when done.
8. Season the shrimp with your Cajun seasoning. *Decide if you want to be heavy handed and dredge your shrimp in it or just a few shakes per shrimp. Again, it comes down to your preference for heat.Season your shrimp in batches.
9. Heat oil in a sauté pan, just enough to cover the bottom and sauté your shrimp until it pinks up and is almost cooked through. If you seasoned your shrimp heavily, back away from the stove a bit, you may be coughing a just bit as it cooks.
10. Place shrimp into the sauce as they finish cooking, repeat until all shrimp is cooked.
11. Heat the pot through, just to a simmer. Taste and adjust your sauce. If the seasoning from the shrimp didn’t spice your sauce they way you would enjoy, add some additional Cajun seasoning.
12. Season the avocado pieces with salt & pepper then add them into the sauce.
13. Spritz the sauce with the juice of half a lime, stir and enjoy once it is heated through.
14. You can make the sauce a day ahead if you choose.