SOUTHERN DISH HIGHLIGHTS GEORGIA SHRIMP

You might think shrimpers and their families would get quite tired of eating shrimp, but that doesn’t appear to be the case. Clifford Watson, son of a shrimper and cousin of Hunter Forsyth, grew up on the Altamaha River and shares this family recipe.

There may be as many ways to spell the name of this traditional Southern dish as there are cooks. Perloo, purloo, or as Watson spells it,“perlow.”

Shrimping was a livelihood that involved everyone in the family. “At the end my father’s career he owned two shrimp boats, the Three Cees and the MarGin. There were five kids in my family: Cathy, Carol, Cliff (Three Cees), Margaret and Ginny (MarGin). I spent much of my childhood at the family dock. When I was smaller, I helped ‘head’ the shrimp for 25 cents a bucket and as a teenager helped unload the boats, fuel them and load ice. Those were truly fun times.”

1 pound bacon 1 large Vidalia onion,

diced 1 large green bell pepper,

diced 1 rib celery, diced 2 (16-ounce) cans diced

tomatoes 1 1/2 pounds peeled

Georgia shrimp Salt, black pepper and

hot sauce Cooked rice, for serving

In a large skillet, fry bacon until crisp. Remove from fat and drain. Set aside.

Pour off 1/2-inch bacon fat and leave remaining bacon fat in skillet. Add onion, bell pepper and celery and saute until onion becomes translucent. Crumble reserved bacon and add to skillet. Add tomatoes, including juice, and simmer for a few minutes to heat through. Add shrimp, salt, pepper and hot sauce to taste and stir to combine. Cover skillet and simmer 5 minutes or until shrimp are cooked through. Do not overcook the shrimp. Remove from heat and serve immediately over rice. Serves: 6

Per serving, without rice: 609 calories (percent of calories from fat, 59), 47 grams protein, 14 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 39 grams fat (13 grams saturated), 237 milligrams cholesterol, 1,733 milligrams sodium.

CONTRIBUTED BY CLIFFORD WATSON