Recipe: Baked Shrimp Newburg

MmmMmm Good

Tonight I'm cooking dinner for my mother. Ever since I can remember she's made a "quickie" version of "Shrimp on Toast" for a fast lunch. It was buttered toast, canned shrimp and a cream sauce. Fast to do, and tastes fast. Tonight I'm ratcheting it up a few notches for her. Hope she will like it. I know there are other baked versions of Newburg but I don't seem to be able to find one quite like this.

Here it goes:

1 loaf crusty French bread

1 lb shrimp, raw in shell (any size)

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup onion, finely chopped

1/4 cup celery, finely chopped

3 cups whole milk

1/4 cup sherry

1/4 cup water, or chicken stock

1/2 tsp curry powder

1/2 tsp paprika, hot

1 tsp pepper, coarse ground

1 tsp salt

1 cup mozzarella, grated

Preheat oven to 350°F. 

Slice the bread on the diagonal about 1/2 inch thick, and toast. You have to have enough slices to cover the bottom of a 9x9 ovenproof pan twice. Set toast aside.

Peel the shrimp and roughly chop. Set aside.

Heat the butter in a medium saucepan and sauté the onion and celery until softened. Add the flour and whisk. Slowly add in the milk and simmer until thickened. Let cook for one minute to get rid of the raw flour taste. 

Stir in the sherry, water, curry, paprika, pepper and salt. Remove half of the sauce and set aside. (Note: the better the sherry the better the sauce will taste.)

Reheat remaining sauce in the saucepan to a simmer and add the shrimp and half the cheese. Cook until shrimp are almost done, about 1-2 minutes.

Place one layer of the toast in the bottom of the pan. Pour the shrimp mixture over the top and smooth out. Arrange remaining toast on top. Pour reserved sauce over the final layer of toast and sprinkle on remaining 1/2 cup of cheese.

Bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until slightly golden and bubbly on top.