Hello again to everyone out there in Jellyroll land.
“Cajun food” comes from the deepest Southern parts of Louisiana and Mississippi. Like the area it originated from, Cajun flavor is spicy, rich, and really, really good! A lot of people don’t know that the typical Cajun food was developed by extremely poor people. Refugees and farmers used what they had to feed large families.Cajun spices always consist of three things. Bell pepper, onions and celery are the favorite vegetables to add flavor for the Cajun food. It is referred to as the ‘Holy Trinity.’ A couple of other favorites are cayenne pepper and garlic. Cajuns are fond of their spice, and add it to most dishes that they prepare.Cajun food hasn’t changed much over the years, and that’s probably what makes it so charming. If you’re visiting New Orleans, Louisiana you will find the menus at different restaurants usually contain the favorite Cajun foods. Along with a burger and French fries, you can get a delicious helping of Seafood Gumbo, Red beans and rice, or Jambalaya. So here are a few of my favorite recipes ( courtesy of Real Cajun ). Hope you enjoy.
Roux (roo )
The most classic Cajun creation made by cooking equal parts flour and oil together. Must be extremely careful when making. Remember to stir constantly so flour does not burn. Burn one speck and you will have to throw that whole roux away. For darker rouxs, for Gumbos or fricassee, you must cook roux to a dark brown. Between the color of peanut butter and chocolate. It is common that you will burn several rouxs before you get it right. Dont be discouraged. Keep on trying.
Jambalaya
Makes: 10 servings
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour, 40 minutes
Ready In: 2 hours, 20 minutes
Ingredients
1 large hen or chicken 3 cups chopped onions
1 bunch green onions scallions 2 large bell peppers
1 clove garlic minced fine 3 cups long grain rice
1 pound hickory smoked sausage salt and pepper to taste
oil for browning
Directions
Season hen with salt and pepper(cayenne, garlic and onion powder (optional). In a cast iron pot add oil and brown the hen and sausage. Once browned, drain excess oil. Add onion and garlic to the meat and saute until tender and brown. Add water until meat is covered. Cook for one hour or until meat is tender. Add green onions and bell pepper. Add rice and more liquid, stir well, cover pot and do not stir again. Note add enough water or flavored broth for the rice to cook in. Cook over low fire until rice is done.
Red Beans and Sausage
Traditionally Cajuns prepared the red beans and sausage then served the beans and sausage over rice which is the way this dish is prepared. This is a different from some fast food chicken places in which the rice is cooked with the bean and sausage mixture.
Makes: 10 servings
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours, 0 minutes
Ready In: 2 hours, 25 minutes
Ingredients
1 pound red kidney beans 1 large onion chopped
1 bell pepper chopped 1 garlic clove minced
1 pound smoked sausage cut in 1/2 inch pieces 1 ham-bone with some meat on it Optional but wonderful to use
1 bay leaf red pepper to taste
salt and black pepper to taste water to cover beans
Directions
Wash beans. In a large Dutch oven or cast iron pot, cover in cold water and soak overnight. When ready to cook, add the onion, bell pepper, garlic, bay leaf and ham-bone. Add enough additional water to cover the beans at least 3 inches above their marker. Cook slowly stirring occasionally until beans are tender. Time will vary from 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
In the last 30 minutes of cooking mash some of the beans to thicken the gravy. Add the smoked sausage and season to taste with salt and pepper. The heat may be increased to evaporate excess water if the beans have a too watery gravy or water added to make more gravy. Do stir to prevent sticking. Serve over steamed rice.
Gumbo
Called a “brown soup”, gumbos are roux based and are made with just about any meat you can find. Meats such as duck, chicken, blackbirds, pork or deer sausage, tasso, Andouille sausage or seafood can be used singly or in any combination.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Ready In: 1 hour, 10 minutes A true Cajun classic.
Ingredients
1 pound crab meat 1 pint oysters
1 pound raw shrimp 2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp flour 2 onions chopped
1 green pepper chopped 1 cup chopped celery
1/2 tsp garlic salt 1/2 tbsp red pepper
4 bay leaves 1 tbsp file’
1 cup green onion tops 2 quarts water
Directions
Make a dark roux with the flour and oil in a large Dutch oven. Saute the onion, pepper, and celery inroux. Add the water and the seasonings and cook for 1/2 hour. Add shrimp and cook for 10 minutes. Add crabmeat, oysters and green onions, and simmer for 10 more minutes. Serve over rice and add file’ if desired
Boudin or Boudoin
Light brown in color, one of the more popular Cajun sausages is made with rice and pork meat. Eating cracklings with boudoin was almost a must or with cush cush and syrup.
Makes: 6 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Ready In: 55 minutes
Ingredients
5 pounds pork meat, chopped or ground 2 pounds pork livers
3 cups rice, steamed 4 onions, chopped
2 bunches green onion tops, chopped 3 tbsp parsley flakes
3 tbsp celery flakes salt to taste
black pepper to taste red pepper to taste
Directions
Cook meat until tender, debone, chop or grind as preferred. Cook onions in same juice until tender. Add green onions and other seasonings. Cook until done. Add meat, cook 15-20 minutes more. Cook until most of the water is gone. Add cooked rice, stir well. Add more seasoning, if needed. Stuff mixture into casings. Prick casings 3 or 4 times each to prevent bursting. Boil each boudin in hot, but notboiling, water for 12 minutes to cook casing.
Cracklins
These were generally made at the Boucherie by deep fat frying the pork skin that had fat and meat attached. The cracklins were then flavored with a mixture of salt and peppers. Some people call pork rinds cracklins. Cracklins go really well with boudin.
Makes: 10 servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Ready In: 20 minutes
Ingredients
pork skin with fat oil
salt pepper
Directions
Cut pork fat and skins into 2-inch squares keeping the pork meat on the square. You will see skin, fat, and meat. You can also cut smaller sections into the fat if thick, but not all the
way through the skin.
Place the pork squares in a hot iron pot. Do not overcrowd the pieces. Add about 4 inches of oil making sure all pieces are covered with the oil.
Cook over high heat until cracklins (pork squares) are browned and floating to top. Stir constantly to keep the pork cracklins from sticking and burning.
Remove from grease with strainer and pour out onto absorbent
paper towels. Salt and pepper the cracklins while hot. Store in a tight closed covered container.
Cush Cush/Couche Couche
A cereal made with cornmeal and water. This dish was a staple food for many Cajuns. Served with milk, fig preserves were commonly served or fresh cracklins.
Makes: 6 servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ready In: 25 minutes
Ingredients
5 tbsp cooking oil 2 cups yellow cornmeal
1 tsp salt 1 tsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder 2 cups milk
Directions
Put four of the five tablespoons of cooking oil into a heavy iron
skillet or saucepan which has a tight lid. Let it heat while you mix
the remaining ingredients in the order given. Last, add the one
tablespoon of cooking oil and pour the whole mixture
into the hot cooking oil. Lower flame to medium and let cook.
Keep stirring about every three minutes, being sure to scrape the
bottom of the pot each time. Cook covered tightly until couche-
couche reaches the consistency of crumbled up corn bread
(about 20 minutes).
Note: Milk is the correct wetting agent in this recipe. Some Couch-Couch recipes use water.
Etouffee/ Etouffe/ Etoufee
No matter how you spell it, this is probably one of the more popular Cajun dishes made with a blend of spices using crawfish or shrimp. It is creamy and served over rice. The term etoufee means “smother” or “cook down”. This dish does not use any roux.
Makes: 8 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour, 0 minutes
Ready In: 1 hour, 20 minutes
Ingredients
4 cups finely chopped onions 2 cups finely chopped bell pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped celery 2 minced garlic
2 sticks butter 2 pounds crawfish tails with fat
4 tbsp flour 1 cup water
2 tsp salt 2 tsp cajun or creole seasonings
1/2 cup finely chopped green onion tops (scallions)
Directions
In a heavy pot, preferably black iron (or magnolite or thick bottom heavy duty stainless), melt butter and then add the first four ingredients(onions bell pepper,celery and garlic.) Cook on low heat for 30-40 minutes until vegetables are soft and translucent. This is a must as your dish may be too oniony in taste or reduce the amount of onions in the recipe. Add flour and stir for one minute. Add crawfish tails and water and continue to cook for 15 minutes. Add seasoning and onion tops and cook for 5 more minutes.
Beignet
A deep fried doughnut that almost every Cajun child grew up eating and made popular worldwide at the Café de Monde restaurant in the New Orleans French Quarter.
Makes: 10 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Ready In: 1 hour, 0 minutes
Ingredients
1/10 cup shortening 1/10 cup sugar
2/5 package yeast 1 3/10 cup plain flour
1/5 tsp salt 1/5 cup evaporated milk
2/5 eggs, well beaten
Directions
Cream together shortening, sugar, and salt.
Add one cup boiling water and one cup milk. Set aside.
Mix yeast well in 1/4 cup warm water. Add this and beaten eggs to the mixture and mix well.
Add 3 1/2 cups flour and beat with spoon. Add another 3 cups of flour and mix. Put the dough in a greased covered container in the refrigerator.
When ready to fry, roll out dough 1/4 inch thick and cut into 3 inch squares with a knife. Use knife to cut 1/2 inch slit in the middle of each square.
Fry in deep fat about 360 degrees until golden brown on both sides. Powdered sugar may be sprinkled on top. Drain on paper towels.
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