Louisiana Recipes

When it comes to cooking Cajun and Creole dishes you will sometimes run across a recipe that calls for a roux. The roux is the foundation for many great sauces, gravies and of course gumbo.

Roux

  • 2 tablespoons butter, shortening or bacon drippings
  • 2 tablespoons flour

    Melt the butter, shortening or bacon drippings in thick pot or skillet. Add the flour and stir constantly until dark brown, being careful not to burn. If there is the slightest indication of over-browning, dispose of the roux and start over. Even a slightly burned sauce will ruin a savory dish. To this basic roux, add seasoning and stock to make various sauces and gravies.

    Chicken `Etouff`ee

  • 2 large fryers
  • Salt
  • Red & black pepper
  • 4 tablespoons salad oil
  • 2 large onions, chopped
  • 1 medium bell pepper, chopped
  • 2 ribs celery, chopped

    Cut chicken into serving pieces and season generously. Cover the bottom of a heavt skillet with 2 tablespoons of salad oil and heat to frying temperature. Put in chicken pieces and move them around enough to keep them from sticking. Brown on both sides.
    Saute the onion, bell pepper, and celery in the remaining oil. Add this to the chicken. Cover and cook in a 325 degree oven for about 1 1/2 hours (may be left in longer).
    Before serving, remove chicken to plate, spoon off the grease in the pan, and serve the remaining gravy over rice. Serves 8.

    Walter McIlhenny's Chili

  • 1\4 cup vegetable oil
  • 3 pounds lean beef chuck, cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 1 cup chopped onions
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 3 tablespoons chili powder
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 teaspoons Tobasco pepper sauce
  • 3 cups water
  • 1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chilies, drained
  • cooked rice
  • chopped onion, shredded cheese, and sour cream (optional)

    In a five-quart Dutch oven or heavy saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. In three batches, brown the beef well, removing each batch with a slotted spoon. Set aside.
    Add the onions and garlic to the pot and cook for five minutes, or until tender, stirring frequently. Stir in the chili powder, cumin, salt and Tobasco sauce, and cook for one minute. Add the water and chilies and bring to a boil. Return the beef to the pot Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 90 minutes, or until the beef is tender.
    Serve chili over rice with onions, cheese, and sour cream, if desired. Serves 4 to 6.

    Shrimp `A LA Cre`ole

  • 4 pounds large lake shrimp
  • 1/4 cup salad oil
  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • 1 bunch shallots or 1 large onion
  • 1 can tomato paste
  • 4 green bell peppers
  • 2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
  • 2 teaspoons black pepper

    Clean shrimp and boil 5 minutes, saving stock. Using an iron skillet, make a roux by heating oil and mixing in flour, stirring constantly until well browned. Add onion and brown slightly. Add shrimp, salt and pepper. Stir until shrimp are coated with roux, and none of the roux and onion sticks to skillet. Add tomato paste and green peppers. Stir 15 minutes over moderate heat. Pour in 1 cup of hot shrimp stock and cook 15 minutes over moderate heat. Cook 1 hour slowly, and add more salt and pepper if desired. Serve over rice if desired. Serves 10 to 12.

    Shrimp Gumbo

  • 2 pounds shrimp
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 3 cups okra, chopped or 1 tablespoon file'
  • 2 onions, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • 1 can tomatoes
  • 2 quarts water
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3 pods garlic (optional)
  • Red pepper (optional)

    Peel shrimp uncooked and devein. Make roux (dark) of flour and oil. Add shrimp to this for a few minutes stirring constantly. Set aside.
    Smother okra and onions in oil. Add tomatoes when okra is nearly cooked. Then add water, bay leaf, garlic, salt and pepper. Add shrimp and roux to this. Cover and cook slowly for 30 minutes.
    If okra is not used, add gumbo file' after turning off heat. Serve with rice.Serves 6 to 8 regular people or 2 Kajuns.

    Note:
    File' (fe-lay), is the powdered sassafras leaf made long ago by the Choctaw Indians. Whereas okra is cooked with the gumbo, file' is added after the gumbo is removed from the heat. Never add file' while gumbo is cooking because boiling after the file' is added tends to make the gumbo stringy and unfit for use.
    The thickness of the gumbo depends on the amount of water. Gumbo is best served over mounds of hot rice in a large flat soup bowl.

    Creole Steak

  • 1 2-lb. round steak, 1 in. thick
  • 3 tablespoon shortening
  • 4 tablespoon flour
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1 can tomato sauce
  • 1 tablespoon Kitchen Bouquet
  • 1 1/2 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 green pepper, chopped
  • 1/2 cup chopped celery
  • 3 tablespoon chopped green onion tops
  • 3 tablespoons chopped parsley

    Brown steak on both sides in 1 tablespoon shortening in large skillet. Remove from skillet; set aside. Add remaining shortening to skillet. Add flour, stirring constantly until golden brown. Add onion; cook until wilted. Add 2 cups water gradually to flour mixture, stirring constantly. Stir in tomato sauce, Kitchen Bouquet, seasoning, green pepper and celery; mix well. Return steak to skillet, spooning sauce over steak. Cover.
    Simmer until meat is tender. Add green onion tops and parsley. Simmer for 15 minutes longer. Serve with rice.

    Southern-Fried Shrimp

  • 3 cups deveined shrimp
  • 2 1/4 teaspoons salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 egg, well beaten
  • 1/2 cup light cream
  • 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • Oil for frying

    Season shrimp with 2 teaspoons salt and pepper. Let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes. Combine remaining ingredients in small bowl; mix until smooth. Combine batter and shrimp; stir until shrimp are well coated with batter. Drop shrimp into hot fat in clusters of 2 or 3 shrimp. Fry until light brown.

    Glossary Of Terms
    A-E
      A vorte sante':
      A French toast, "To your health."
      Andouille:
      A type of sausage used in cooking. Originally made using pieces of intestine or chitterlings stuffed into a large casing with pork or ham, onions, garlic, and cayenne, then smoked.
      Bacon Drippings:
      The fat that is rendered after bacon has been fried until crispy.
      Beignet:
      French for "fritter," a doughnut-type batter usually deep fried in oil and sprinkled with confectioners' sugar. A New Orleans favorite often served with caf'e au lait.
      Bisque:
      A type of soup usually made with a cream base. In southern Louisiana, often made with a dark roux and crawfish, shrimp, or fish, and highly seasoned.
      Caf'e:
      French for "coffee."
      Caf'e au lait:
      French for coffee with milk.
      Caf'e noir:
      French for black coffee.
      Cajun:
      A descendant of the original Acadian refugees or anyone absorbed into the Cajun culture by marriage or choice. Cajuns settled mostly in southern Louisiana.
      Cayenne pepper:
      The very pungent fruit of a variety of capsicum. Fresh or pickled, ground or whole, this seasoning is used in cooking many foods.
      Cordial:
      A strong, sweetened, aromatic, alcoholic liquor. A liqueur.
      Corn flour:
      Corn finely ground to the consistency of flour. Cornmeal is ground more coarsely.
      Crab boil:
      A bouquet garni, or porous bag, filled with the seasonings used to boil and flavor shrimp, crabs, or crawfish.
      Creole:
      A term generally applied to a native-born descendant of mediterreanean ancestry.
      Demitasse:
      French for "half cup." A small coffee cup.
      'Etouff'ee:
      French for smothered. A dish made with onions, seasonings, and meat, fish, or vegetables smothered and slowly cooked.
    F-I
      Fais-do-do:
      A Cajun dance.
      Gumbo:
      A soup made with a dark roux and water, also with seafood and meat. Eaten with rice and sprinkled with file'.
      Hogshead cheese:
      An aspic made from the head, feet, and sometimes other meat of the hog.
    J-M
      Jambalaya:
      A very popular dish made in Louisiana. It consists of rice, meat, or seafood, with onions, garlic, and other seasonings, cooked in one pot.
      Maque chou:
      Young tender corn, cut off the cob, fried in a small amount of fat, then simmered. Meat or seafood can be added for variety.
    N-Q
      Okra:
      A vegetable often boiled or stewed, and also used in gumbo.
      Pilau:
      A dish of saute`ed rice steamed in bouillon with meat, poultry, or shellfish and seasonings.
      Po-boy (poor-boy):
      A New Orleans tradition. Made with a loaf of fresh French bread, sliced in half lengthwise. Filled with meat or seafood with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and many other ingredients. A submarine.
      Pousse cafe`:
      French for "coffee pusher." A shot of liquor served with or in coffee, or a drink with several liqueurs arranged in layers.
      Praline:
      A candy made with brown sugar, milk, and pecans.
    R-T
      Ramekin:
      A small dish in which food can be baked and served.
      Sassafras:
      The leaves of the sassafras tree are dried to make file`. Medicinal tea and flavoring oils are also made from its roots.
      Satsuma:
      A type of mandarin grown in extreme southern Louisiana.
      Sauce piquant:
      A highly seasoned gravy with meat or seafood. Often made with tomatoes and served over rice or pasta.
      Tarte a` la bouille:
      Milk custard pie.
      Tasso:
      Smoked pork, highly seasoned and then smoked again. Used to flavor vegetables, seafood, pasta, or gumbo.

    Return to [ Louisiana ]