Sure, the Super Bowl was weeks ago, but we were inspired by the game’s host city, New Orleans, to come up with this recipe.

There are plenty of traditional Cajun or Creole recipes, like gumbo, jambalaya, red beans and rice, etouffee, muffaletta, beignets. But I’m going to go with the classic Shrimp Po’Boy.

Po’boys were invented in New Orleans during a streetcar strike in 1929. The story goes that two brothers, Benny and Clovis Martin, former streetcar workers who had opened a coffee stand, began feeding striking colleagues with big sandwiches stuffed into half loaves of bread. One of the brothers, it’s said, would drawl “here comes another poor boy” each time someone approached for a sandwich, but it sounded more like “po’boy.” And the name stuck.

For the filling, roast beef and fried oysters are popular po’boy options, but here I went with plump, crispy, fresh-from-the-pan fried shrimp. Buy shrimp that are not too large nor too small, like 31-40 per pound shrimp.

Shrimp Po’Boy

Serves 4

Ingredients

For the sandwich:

1 loaf French or Italian bread

1 pound medium (31/40 per pound) shrimp

¼ cup all-purpose flour

¼ cup cornmeal

2 teaspoons kosher salt, pus more to taste

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

½ teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 large egg

½ cup milk

Vegetable oil for frying

To dress the Po’Boys:

Remoulade sauce or mayonnaise

Shredded romaine or iceberg lettuce

Sliced pickles

Sliced tomatoes

Directions

1. Slice the bread in half horizontally, then slice the loaf into 2 to 4 sections, depending on how big you want each sandwich to be. Scoop out some of the fluffy bread from the middle if you wish; that’s a personal choice (but common in the po’ boy world of New Orleans).

2. Combine the flour, cornmeal, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder and cayenne pepper in a shallow bowl. Mix the egg with the milk in another bowl and season with a bit more salt and pepper. Place a wire rack on a baking sheet.

3. A few at a time, dunk the shrimp in the milk mixture, turning them to coat. Using a slotted spoon or your hand, remove the shrimp, allow any excess liquid to drip back into the bowl, then dredge them in the flour mixture, making sure they are well coated. Use one hand for the wet ingredients and another for the dry to keep everything from getting clumpy and messy.

4. As the shrimp are breaded, place them, without touching each other, on the wire rack. When all of the shrimp are coated, place the baking sheet into the fridge and let the shrimp chill for 15 minutes.

Line a large plate with paper towels. Pour the oil to a depth of 1 inch into a large, heavy, deep skillet. Heat the oil over medium high heat to 365°F. (Tip: If you don’t have a candy thermometer, just wait until the oil is shimmering, then add one shrimp. If it starts to gently sizzle and turn golden brown after about 2 minutes, your oil is the perfect temperature.)

5. In a few batches, add the shrimp, turning them with a slotted spoon as they cook. They should fry for about 2 to 3 minutes total, and become golden brown and crispy. Remove them with a slotted spoon to the paper-towel-lined plate. See if they need another light sprinkle of kosher salt. Continue frying until all of the shrimp are cooked and crispy.

(Tip: You may need to allow the oil to come back up to temperature in between batches of shrimp. Adding too many shrimp at once will lower the temperature of the oil, and the shrimp won’t get nicely browned and crunchy.)

6. Spread some remoulade or mayo on the toasted bread. Add shredded lettuce to the bottom piece, then pile on the warm shrimp, tomatoes and pickles. Add a bit more sauce and lettuce if you like, and then top with the other piece of bread. Serve immediately.