Shrimps DeJonghe

Cooking Irish can also be found at Pinterest and PETICHEF.
 

 

I ordered this dish at a restaurant in Aswan in 1985 and am ashamed to say that at the time I was unaware of its history.  I did not know its origins were American, the signature dish from the DeJonghe family's hotel and restaurant in Chicago in the nineteenth century.  I ask forgiveness of all Chicagoans for my ignorance.  It is such a wonderful and easy recipe to make that I have made up for it since.  I cook this even when I am dining alone now.  I am so glad I discovered this entrée in Egypt.
 
This is another post that highlights a restaurant that features the dish. In the late 1800s Henri and Eugenie DeJonghe emigrated from Belgium to the United States and settled in Chicago, Illinois.  Henri and Eugenie and their family would go on to become philanthropic giants in the Chicago area contributing hundreds of thousands of dollars to Loyola University and St. John Berchmans Church amongst many others. The DeJonghe family would one day own a beautiful mansion on the north side of Chicago at the northwest corner of Foster Avenue and Sheridan Road. But, their name would forever live on for millions thanks to that one triumphant moment of culinary brilliance.

Shrimps DeJonghe was the signature dish created by the DeJonghe family (Henri, Charles, Peter, Julia, and Leonie) in Chicago in 1891 for their restaurant on the south side of the city.

The restaurant moved to its downtown Monroe Street location in 1899 where it boasted other delicacies such as oysters, clams, escargots, and Swift’s Premium Milk-Fed Chickens.  The DeJonghe family ran a successful restaurant for 12 years in the building originally built by the Chicago Club and later modified by adding 2 stories to it by the Columbus Club. Eventually, the DeJonghe family, with the help of Daniel H. Burnham, converted the property into a high class European Hotel. (This is the same Daniel Burnham who laid out and constructed the 1893 Columbian Exposition as well as prepared the plan for the city of Chicago. A fascinating book on the Chicago's World Fair by Erik Larson is The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America. I don't know when I have learned so much about NY and Chicago in one book.)  The 7-story, 50-room hotel located opposite the Palmer House, had the restaurant on the first floor and a banquet room on the second floor with the top 5 floors reserved for guest rooms.

In its day the restaurant was renowned for its many signature DeJonghe dishes, amongst which was the Shrimps DeJonghe still ordered today.  Had it not been for a slight run in with the Prohibition Police in the early 1920s resulting in the closing of their restaurant one wonders how long the original establishment could have continued.  The family eventually opened its second restaurant, Jules, on 71st Street. Shrimps DeJonghe was proudly served once again. Jules was operated by a grand-nephew of Charles DeJonghe in the mid 1950s.  In the early 1960s, Jerry Lenza, an apprentice at Jules, took the Shrimps DeJonghe recipe with him when Jules closed and Lenza opened his restaurant, The Guest House, on 87th Street.  Lenza had obtained the rights to the recipe when he purchased Jules from The DeJonghe family.

Today you can find Shrimps DeJonghe on menus all over the world. But, make no mistake; the original recipe came from the DeJonghe family of Chicago who opened a little restaurant as part of their American dream.

We took the felucca from Aswan so while staying in the city, I got to enjoy Shrimps DeJonge for the very first time.  We traveled through the Nile Valley, and the peace and beauty of the Nile River discovered on a felucca cannot be surpassed.  Aga Khan's Mausoleum seen from the water is truly spectacular.

The Aga Khan was the spiritual leader of the Ismailis, a Shi'ite sect based principally in India but with followers around the world.  His mausoleum is a very elegant pink granite structure of late 1950 origin.  Members of this sect consider themselves to be the direct spiritual descendants of the Fatimid.  The mausoleum has an excellent view, including Aga Khan's white villa below and is near the Monastery of St. Simeons on the west bank at Aswan.

The Aga Khan was extremely wealthy.  On his birthday in 1945, he was weighed in diamonds which he then distributed to his followers.  It should be noted that he was a large man.  Every day that his widow was at the villa, she placed a red rose on his white Carrara marble tomb.  His widow, Omme Habibeh, popularly referred to as "The Begum" died on July 1, 2000.  Now, a gardener fills this function, and it has been rumored that at one point, not a single rose could be found in Egypt, so for almost a week, roses were flown in from Paris by private jet.
 

Mohammed Shah Aga Khan was educated in Europe and succeeded his father in 1885 to become the 48th imam.  He was succeeded by his grandson, Karim Aga Khan upon his death in 1957.  The mausoleum is no longer open to the public.

The Nile Valley in Egypt near Aswan in the 1980s
 

 
Aga Khan's Mausoleum on the Nile near Aswan as seen from our felucca in July of 1985

Here is the recipe for the original Shrimps DeJonghe from the 1891 menu that I found included in an article on the DeJonghe family. It is the sherry and garlic that make this so delicious.

Shrimps DeJonghe  [Serves 2-4]

Ingredients:

1 lb. of shrimp, cooked and peeled
1/3 cup of plain dried breadcrumbs
½ tsp. of salt
¼ tsp. of pepper
3 tbsp. of butter, softened
1 tbsp. of olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbsp. of fresh parsley, minced
1 ½ tbsp. of chives, minced
1 tsp. of onions, minced
¼  tsp. of Worcestershire sauce
4 tbsp. of sherry
Paprika
Squeeze of fresh lemon

Preparation:

1. Combine the bread crumbs, salt, and pepper and set aside.
2. Melt together the softened butter, olive oil, garlic, parsley, chives, onion, and Worcestershire sauce; set aside.
3. Preheat oven to 400° F.
4. In a 1-quart baking dish (or 4 individual dishes), toss the shrimp with the sherry.
5. Pour 2/3 of the butter-garlic mixture over shrimp, then top with the bread crumb mixture.  Squeeze the lemon over the shrimp and bread crumbs.
6. Drizzle remaining butter-garlic mixture over the crumbs and sprinkle with paprika.  Bake until the crumbs are lightly browned.

This is an alternative recipe I found dating from the 1970s attributed to the Palmer House.  I wonder if the Palmer House chefs varied the recipe slightly on occasion or if this particular chef did not provide all of the accurate ingredients for the publication of Better Homes and Gardens® Recipes from Famous Places.  Perhaps a mystery never to be solved.  I prefer the original recipe with the sherry over the steak sauce.  I have seen many, many variations of the recipe.  Some with cayenne pepper and parmesan cheese.  That sounds good too. 

Shrimps DeJonghe       [Makes 6 servings]

Ingredients:

2 lbs. of medium or large shrimp, cooked, peeled, and deveined
¼ cup of fresh lemon juice
½ cup of butter, softened
1 cup of soft bread crumbs
¼ cup of sour cream
¼ cup of fresh parsley, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp. of Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. of A.1.® Steak Sauce
1 tsp. of salt
Dash of freshly ground black pepper
6-12 lemon wedges for garnish
6 fresh parsley sprigs for garnish　

Preparation:

[If you purchased raw, unshelled shrimp, place the shrimp in 6 cups of boiling water. Add 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice, 1 cut-up celery stalk with leaves, 1 small cut-up white onion, and two bay leaves.  Cover and bring again to boiling.  Reduce the heat and simmer gently until the shrimp turn pink.  About 5 minutes.  Do not overcook.  Remove from heat and let the shrimp cool in the cooking liquid.  If you purchased cooked shrimp, just pour the 2 tablespoons of lemon juice over the shrimp and let set while preparing the rest of the ingredients.]

Preheat oven to 400°.  Cream the softened butter with the bread crumbs, sour cream, chopped parsley, garlic, and the remaining 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, the steak sauce, and pepper.  If you purchased the raw shrimp, drain, shell, and clean the vein.  Place shrimp in 6 individual au gratin baking dishes and cover with the butter mixture.  Bake until the shrimp are heated through, about 15 minutes.  Serve with fresh lemon wedges for garnish.  And imagine you are in the Palmer House in Chicago in the 1960s, or the DeJonghe Restaurant in 1891 on Chicago's south side, or in an Egyptian restaurant in Aswan in the 1980s.  Wherever your mind chooses to travel, your taste buds will be rewarded with this American classic.  Enjoy.