Creole Sauce

A very basic creole sauce that can be used when making shrimp creole, stuffed peppers or my favorite as a gravy over meat. I especially love this with rice topped with leftover meatloaf slices and then this sauce spooned over.

• Ready In: 40 mins
• Yields: 4 cups

Ingredients

• 2  tablespoons olive oil
• 1  medium onion, chopped
• 2  stalks celery, chopped
• 1  green bell pepper, chopped
• 2 -3  large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 (14 1/2ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 2  cups  vegetable stock
• 2  bay leaves
• 1⁄8-1⁄4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1⁄8-1⁄4 teaspoon white pepper
• 1⁄2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 -3  teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
•  hot sauce, to taste
• 2  tablespoons parsley, chopped
• 3  green onions, thinly sliced
•  salt, to taste
•  black pepper, to taste
• 2  tablespoons cornstarch

Directions

1. In a medium size saucepan, over medium heat, heat the oil.
2. Add the chopped onion, celery, bell pepper and garlic cooking until slightly wilted.
3. Add the tomatoes and cook for an additional 1 to 2 minutes.
4. Add about 1 1/2 cups stock, taking care not to add to much. You can always add more if needed.
5. Add the seasonings, bay leaves, hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce; stir and reduce heat to simmer.
6. Mix the cornstarch with equal amounts of water and stir 1 tablespoon of mixture into sauce.
7. Allow to cook for a few minutes, stir and add additional water/cornstarch mixture if the sauce looks thin or add additional stock if sauce is to thick.
8. Simmer about 20 minutes adding additional stock as necessary.
9. The last 10 minutes of cooking time, stir in the parsley and green onions.
10. Remove bay leaves, taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
11. Use the sauce to make your favorite recipe for shrimp creole, etc.
12. This sauce can be frozen in sturdy container and thawed in refrigerator before reheating and using.