Shrimp Creole Soup with Bacon and Cheddar Dumplings

Ingredients:

4 slices bacon

1 cup onion, diced

1 cup celery, diced

1 cup bell pepper, diced

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 teaspoon thyme, chopped

1/4 cup flour (or rice flour)

4 cups chicken broth (or shrimp broth)

1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes (or 4 cups fresh tomatoes, diced)

1 tablespoon creole seasoning

2 bay leaves

1 tablespoon TABASCO sauce

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon fish sauce

3/4 cup flour (or rice flour)

1/4 cup cornmeal

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1/2 cup buttermilk (or milk)

1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

1/4 cup green onions, sliced

1 pound shrimp, shelled and deviened salt, pepper and cayenne to taste

1/2 cup green onions, sliced

Cook the bacon in a large sauce pan until crispy and set aside.
Add the onion, celery and peppers to the sauce pan and cook in the bacon grease over medium-high heat until tender and slightly golden brown, about 5-7 minutes.
Add the garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant, about a minute.
Sprinkle in the flour and cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes.
Add 1/2 cup of the broth and deglaze the pan by scraping up the brown bits on the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon while the broth simmers.
Add the remaining broth, the tomatoes, creole seasoning, bay leaves, TABASCO sauce, Worcestershire sauce and fish sauce, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
Mix the flour, cornmeal, baking soda, butter, buttermilk, cheddar cheese and green onions along with the reserved bacon and drop 1 tablespoon ‘balls’ of the dough into the soup before letting them cook for 10 minutes, flipping the dumplings and letting them cook another 10 minutes.
Add the shrimp and cook until they just turn pink, about 3 minutes before seasoning with salt and pepper to taste and serving garnished with green onions.

Enjoy !