3 cups water — for cooking shrimp
1 pound raw medium prawns — 18 to 24 prawns
peeled 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons pure olive oil
1/2 cup yellow onion — peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 red bell pepper
seeded, pits removed, & coarsely chopped 1 green bell pepper
seeded, pits removed, & coarsely chopped 1 stalk celery
peeled and thinly sliced 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
or 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 tablespoon file seasoning
28 ounces crushed tomatoes in puree
1 cup red table wine
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup shrimp cooking liquid
1 1/2 cups fish stock or bottled clam juice
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup water
1/4 cup Italian parsley — stemmed and chopped
1/4 cup Italian parsley — for garnish
Cook rice first, and while it is cooking, cook shrimp. To cook shrimp, bring water to a boil; add shrimp and boil for 6 – 8 minutes until color changes to pink; rinse in cold water (to stop cooking), and drain.
To prepare stew, squeeze juice of 1/2 lemon over cooked shrimp and set aside. Put oil in 6-quart saucepan and cook onion on medium heat until it is softened and translucent, 6 – 8 minutes. Add garlic, chopped peppers, celery, thyme, and file seasoning and cook for 5 more minutes. Add tomato, wine, pepper flakes, shrimp cooking liquid, fish stock, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, and salt. Simmer for 10 minutes and taste to determine the level of “heat” from the peppers. Add more if necessary. If you want to thicken it, add cornstarch mixture and simmer for 3 – 4 minutes. Add 1/2 cup parsley. The stew can be made to this point and held for several hours. Add the cooked shrimp just before you are ready to serve. Add shrimp. When it is heated through, squeeze remaining lemon juice over it and serve.