SHRIMP IN BLUE CHEESE SAUCE OVER RICE

SHRIMP IN BLUE CHEESE SAUCE OVER RICE

I have been a bit lazy in the kitchen recently and decided I wanted a full bodied meal, bursting with flavor.  What to make?  With not much time and a day before food shopping day, I knew it might not be that great or exciting.  Off to the freezer and there were numerous bags of shrimp (bought for only $4.99 a pound at the Asian market on sale).

I found a huge piece of blue cheese, some light cream and I came up wih this recipe.  It is very rich and a little goes a long way. 

To be honest, I would make half of the sauce as I had allot leftover as I dished it  with lots of shrimp and little sauce.  So I wasted some sauce for sure!

4 cups water

12 large shrimp in shells

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup long-grain white rice

2 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoon flour

½ cup light cream

¾ cup milk

5 ounces blue cheese

Good squirt of Hot Sauce of your liking

4 sprigs Italian flat-leaf parsley chopped

Bring water to a boil. Stir in raw shrimp in shells and boil just under a minute. Drain shrimp RESERVING water. Peel shrimp and reserve.  Place all shells back the water and boil on medium heat for 4 minutes.  Drain and keep 2 cups of liquid.

Boil 2 cups of reserved liquid and put ¾ cup rice in and stir.  Reduce heat to low and simmer 20 minutes until rice is cooked. Fluff the rice and season with salt.

Melt butter and stir in flour and cook 1 minute.  Place in milk and cream and stir until creamy.

Add cheese (all but a small amount to top the plates)  in a pan  and cook on low heat until melted.Squirt hot sauce in sauce and mix.   When rice is cooked and sauce finished add the shrimp to the sauce and stir until heated through.

Serve sauce a top the rice and sprinkle with parsley and bits of blue cheese.  Serves three/ four.

TIPS:

·        Shrimp will cook more in the sauce. Therefore, under-cook in the water (just enough to make peeling easy)

·        Sauce is good on spaghetti or polenta