A Louisiana devil for shrimp...or is it?

We suppose this really is a hybrid of the British and Louisiana imagination. Oddly enough, the Gateway cook gives Britain no credit; John Folse would disapprove, and would be right to do so. About four servings.

1. Mash together everything but the shrimp and greens.
2. Evenly space the shrimp on a cookie sheet and smear them with the devil.
3. Broil the devilled shrimp until the devilling bubbles and colors and the shrimp become tight curls, usually about 5 minutes.
4. Sprinkle the devilled shrimp with the parsley and scallions and serve hot as hell.

Notes:
- For a posh English accent, serve devilled shrimp with toast; for a different drawl, grits or rice. It is, as they say in New Orleans, all good.

- On toast, a smaller portion of this devil makes an excellent hot starter.

- If you cannot or will not buy extravagantly large shrimp, figure on about ¼ lb per portion.

- The original recipe uses Dijon mustard and less garlic, hot sauce and Worcestershire: Proportions are up to you.

- It also specifies Tabasco, which the Editor considers one dimensional. It has lots of heat but little finesse; we prefer Crystal or its milder cousin Cajun Chef. Frank’s is not bad either, nor, surprisingly, is the ‘Stop n Shop’ house brand. Use what you like in an amount calibrated to the heat of the sauce. britishfoodinamerica draws the line at habanero and Scotch bonnet but Londoners do love Encona.

- Louisiana cooks use a lot of Worcestershire so devils ought to be prominent in their cooking but are not. We have found no devils published by authors from the state or enamored with its food.

- Oddly enough, however, for a cuisine premised on striking flavors and influenced by both Britain and southern Italy, anchovies do not figure much, maybe not at all, in Louisiana cooking except within the Worcestershire. A culinary lacuna.