Fresh shrimps in creamy celery, dill and calamari sauce

My mind if flying to the nice summer times and the great seafood that I tasted in Italy, the careless feeling of the vacation (maybe because I really need one right now), the loving mood … and …and… and I am suddenly back to the cold reality: it is finally autumn, pretty damn cold outside and the summer is gone for good, even if I hoped that based on continuous warm weather we might just escape this time without it.

If you are not reading now from a nice tropical country from under a palm tree (I would envy you for that; but even if you are there, you could still try this one) and wish for something to warm you up right now, I am dedicating this recipe to you.

It is a nice combination of summer mood and hearty cooking that our body asks for in the cold seasons.

So take your cap, run to the local market, buy some fresh shrimps and chop chop back to make some yummy dish. Well, you actually need a bit more than shrimps for that, but I am just trying to be funny.

So…

What do you need

300g of fresh shrimps

 300g of fresh calamari

1 big celery root

1 big white onion

1 bunch of fresh dill

150 ml of liquid cooking cream

1 cup of chicken stock

2 garlic cloves
20 g of butter

Salt and pepper

Olive oil 

 

How to prepare it 
 

Once you start preparing the dish is pretty much ongoing, so I advise you to wash the shrimps and clean the calamari before starting. I keep saying to myself that I will post a topic on how to clean calamari, but I will just take it for granted that you got this one. Otherwise, feel free to write me and I will dearly explain.
 

I need to tell you that I like my shrimps in their nice shell, not only for the vibrating color, but I have the feeling the meat tastes better when cooked inside it. But there are infinite number of dishes that can prove me wrong and in which shrimps are done without the shell, so if you would like to skip the small mess that might be produced during eating process, feel free to strip them out for finals.

But back to the dish. So we have our nice onion that we will chop and also the celery, nicely cleaned and sliced in thin slices. Head some olive oil with a half of the butter and sauté the onion until it starts glowing. It is time to add the celery and continue in until the later softens a bit. Add some salt and pepper and mix again. Add the wine at room temperature and let it infuse until it has evaporated 3 quarters of the quantity. Now add your hot chicken stock and let it boil.

In a separate pan, sauté the sliced garlic in the rest of the butter, with olive oil. When the garlic starts giving out its flavor, add the shrimps and sear them until they are nicely done. Remove and set aside.

In the same pan, add some more olive oil and sauté the calamari (just a pinch, we are not looking for frying them).

In the meantime, your celery should be boiled and you should be able to pierce it with the fork easily.

Let the liquid and celery cool a bit, then use the hand blender to transform it into a cream. I led mine a bit more chunky, so you could still feel the celery bits.

Return the pan on the fire and add the cooking cream at room temperature. Just heat it up, don’t boil it.

Add the finely chopped dill and mix until the flavor is nicely distributed.

Now add the calamari rings and shrimps and more seasoning, to taste.
 

Leave it on the fire at very low temperature, just to get that sea taste all over the dish.

Serve with garlic bread or just simple baked bread and a glass of white wine.

Don’t forget, if you like your fingers nice and clean, peel of the shrimps before adding them in the cream sauce.
 

Bon Appetit!
More photos you can find here