Newsgroups: rec.food.recipes Path: nuchat!taronga!arielle From: joseph@inland.com (Roger Joseph) Subject: COLLECTION: Cajun Recipes Message-ID: <1993Aug20.075458.3498@inland.com> Followup-To: poster Sender: arielle@taronga.com (Stephanie da Silva) Reply-To: joseph@inland.com (Roger Joseph) Organization: Inland Steel Company; East Chicago, IN Date: 20 Aug 93 07:54:58 CST Approved: arielle@taronga.com A Collection of Cajun and Other Southern Delights These recipes were gleaned from Netters over the past couple months. ========================================================= Subject: SEAFOOD: Crawfish Etouffee Crawfish Etouffee 1/2 c oil or margarine 1/2 flour 1 large onion, finely chopped 1 large celery stalk, finely chopped 3 fat cloves garlic, minced 2 1/2 c fairly rich shrimp broth 1 T lemon 1/2 c crawfish fat (substitute 3-4 T crawfish liquid or crawfish stock)* 1 T lemon juice 1 t salt (omit if using crawfish stock) 1 T fresh parsley (1 t dried) 1/2 t cayenne pepper 1/2 t black pepper 1/2 t thyme 1 bay leaf 1 lb frozen crawfish, all liquid included 2 large scallion tops, sliced cooked converted rice Make a medium dark roux by whisking the flour into the oil over medium heat and cooking, stirring constantly, until the mixture is the color of chocolate. Add the onion along with the celery and garlic, and sautee over medium low heat until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Slowly add the shrimp stock, and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer, and add lemon juice, crawfish fat/stock/liquid, and the spices. Simmer 15 minutes. Add the crawfish and any liquid, bring to a rapid simmer, reduce to a low simmer, add the scallions, and simmer just until the crawfish are tender, about 10 minutes. Adjust seasonings. To serve, mound some rice in a plate, and ladle some of the etouffee on top. This recipe makes about 4 servings. Note: Crawfish fat gives the dish its characteristic flavor. In New Orleans, it can be bought in the stores, but it's tough to find elsewhere, so substitute. If you do find it, keep it refrigerated, as it is very perishable. By crawfish liquid, I mean any run off from frozen crawfish. Whenever you use crawfish for another reason (making Cajun popcorn, say), you should save any liquid from the inside of the package that remains after defrosting. This liquid is mainly water, but it will be orange in color from the crawfish fat and meat. Finally, to make crawfish stock, take a dozen or so crawfish heads left over from a crawfish boil, and cover with some of the left over cooking liquid or water. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook for several hours. At the end of simmering, strain the stock, and reduce in half. Be careful when using this stock because it will be very salty. Omit any salt from the recipe, and adjust at the end. Enjoy, --frank (a homesick Cajun) --------------------End Recipe---------------------- The following is a recipe for Crayfish Etouffee as garnered from "The Whole Chile Pepper Book" by Dave Dewitt and Nancy Gerlach (ISBN 0-316-18223-0). I cannot purchase fresh crayfish, locally, so I substitute shrimp for the crayfish ... its real good! The recipe is printed exactly as it appears; my changes and comments are included at the end. Crayfish Etouffee ================= The word etouffee comes from the French word for "smother" and in this recipe, it refers to be smothered by a sauce. This dish, as with all traditional Cajun dishes, begins with a roux - or the browning of flour in a fat or oil for use as a thickening agent. INGREDIENTS =========== 4 teaspoons Louisiana Hot Sauce 1 small Bell pepper, diced 1/3 cup vegetable oil 1/4 cup flour 1 medium onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 stalks celery, diced 2 medium tomatoes, peeled and chopped 1 cup fish stock or clam juice 1/2 teaspoon basil 1/4 teaspoon thyme 1 bay leaf freshly ground black pepper 1 pound crayfish, peeled 1/2 cup chopped scallions, including the greens PROCEDURE ========= To make the roux: Heat oil in a heavy skillet until hot. Gradually stir in the flour and stir constantly until the mixture turns brown. Be very careful you don't burn roux. Saute the onions, garlic, celery, and Bell pepper in the roux for five minutes. Add the tomatoes, stock, basil, thyme, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat and simmer for fifteen minutes or until it thickens to a sauce. Add the hot sauce, crayfish, and scallions and simmer for an additional five minutes or until the crayfish/shrimp are cooked. Remove the bay leaf and serve. Serving Suggestions: Serve with celery seed coleslaw, green beans, ==================== and corn bread. Variations: Use shrimp or lobster meat in place of the crayfish =========== COMMENTS: 1. For the inexperienced, making the roux can be tricky ... be certain stir the roux constantly (I mean constantly!) or it will burn (if you see dark flecks forming in the roux, its burnt and it is best to throw it out and start over). Think of it this way - until you've done it a few times, operate under the following edict: "You can't stir the roux too much" Cook roux until it turns "peanut butter brown" or darker. 2. Use only fresh tomatoes, even if they're the supermarket hothouse variety. The first few times I made this stuff it was awful; I later learned why - I had substituted canned tomatoes for fresh tomatoes. 3. Instead of the required thyme, and basil try substituting the following: one tablespoon of Paul Prudhomme's Poultry Magic. Also, amount of increase Louisiana Hot Sauce to two tablespoons; in its original form, this recipe is pretty tame! 4. Serve over cooked rice with homemade biscuits (I use Bisquick for now ... I looking for a "from scratch" equivalent if anyone has suggestions! burdick@zeppo.crd.ge.com -------------------------End Recipe-------------------------- A Collection of Gumbo Recipes from Netters =========================================== From: "Clark Quinn" Subject: SEAFOOD: Gumbo Gumbo can be many things. I learned to make it using Paul Prudhomme's first book. Other Louisiana and southern cookbooks should have it, as should Joy of Cooking and one of Jeff Smith's (The Frugal Gourmet) books. However, as a simple (and rough) starter: Gumbo is a rich cajun soup, thickened either with a) okra, b) a roux, or c) file' powder (ground sassafrass leaves). Of course, these can be combined. I have made all types, but the easy one to make is the roux based. Pay attention and read through before attempting, you'll need to rearrange the steps to make it efficient. Start with oil and flour (approx 2 Tbs each). Heat the oil in the bottom of your soup pot, then add the flour. Stir the flour briskly and brown the roux. It's faster to do over high heat BUT it's easier to mess it up. Prudhomme has a section on making roux that discusses this. Be careful to not get any on you or you'll find out why it's called "cajun napalm". Take it off the heat if it gets too hot until it cools down. As soon as the roux is medium to dark brown (don't scorch the flour or you'll need to start all over), throw in your diced onion, green pepper, and celery (the sacred trinity in cajun cooking). These should stop the roux from cooking. How much? About an onion, a green pepper, and two or three stalks of celery. About two cups diced, combined. Stir around. The roux should have been smelling wonderful and once these vegetables hit the roux the smell becomes almost unbearably good. Garlic, two cloves or so, minced, can go in now, too. Let cook till the vegetables get soft, a couple of minutes. The heat can go to medium now (you did the roux over high heat, being adventurous, didn't you?). You prepared a seasoning mix of thyme, oregano, basil, red (cayenne) pepper, black pepper, and white pepper that can be thrown in when the vegetables get soft. About 2tsp to a 1Tbs each of the herbs, 1/4 to 1/2 tsp each of the peppers. I sometimes add sage, omit the oregano and basil, or otherwise play with the ingredients. This is also the time to add some fresh chopped parsley (all too often neglected) and some chopped green onion. Both are optional, both are good. When this hits the roux/vegetable mixture your nose will go into complete ecstasy. You should also add a Tbs of Worcestershire sauce (sp?) and Tabasco to taste. Thyme, Wor. sauce and Tabasco are the other sacred trinity of cajun cooking. Now it's time to get to the meat of the matter (pun intended). Break: Gumbo can be based on any number of things. Seafood is classic, with shrimp, oysters, crab, or fish in any combination. Chicken can also serve as a base. Sausage is almost mandatory, if you can't get andouille (I can't) then a good smoked sausage will do. For health reasons I've been using turkey sausage lately. (Turkey) Ham can go in. I've even made a seven-steak gumbo (from Prudhomme, again). If you're gonna add chicken, you should have browned the diced chicken in the oil, then removed it before you made the roux. The diced chicken, sausage, and/or ham should go in now. The seafood goes in after the stock. Back to the gumbo, now that you've added any meat you want, you should let it get warm and lightly browned in the roux mixture, then it's time to add the stock. If this is a seafood gumbo, you should use a seafood stock. If you've crab, shrimp, or fish to add, the shells and/or bones should have been used to make a rich stock earlier. I'm talking a redolent, aromatic blend of celery tops, onion parts, bay leaf, etc simmered in water and the fish parts for at least an hour, then strained. Oyster liquor is added if available. You'll want like four cups or so. If you're using sausage, ham, and/or chicken, the bones of the chicken that you diced should have been subjected to the same procedure to make a stock. The richer, the better. You can always use some beer or wine to add more flavor. Avoid, if at all possible, the store bought stock. Anyways, add the four cups of stock. Or, if you want, make the roux/vegetable mixture in a skillet and add to the already heated stock in the soup pot. Now, if you've got them, add shrimp, crab, fish, oysters, clams, whatever. Simmer for an hour or so. Serve some rice in a bowl, ladle gumbo over it. Voila'. You can sprinkle file' powder over as a seasoning, to taste. -----------------------------End Recipe------------------------- From: arielle@taronga.com (Stephanie da Silva) Biscuit Topped Seafood Gumbo Pie Gumbo: 3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon vegetable oil 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour 3 tablespoons butter 3/4 pound smoked sausage, sliced 3/4 pound cooked bonelss ham steak, cut into 2 by 1/4 inch strips 1 large onion, chopped 2 garlic cloves, minced 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped 1 small celery rib, minced 3 tablespoons rice 2 cups chicken stock 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 3/4 pound shrimp, shelled 1/2 pound okra, sliced salt and freshly ground black pepper Biscuit topping: 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 tablspoon baking powder 2 teaspoons sugar 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 6 1/2 tablespoons cold butter 3/4 cup buttermilk Make the gumbo: In a heavy medium skillet, combine 3 tablespoons of the oil with the flour and cook over moderatly low heat, stirring occasionally, until the roux is dark mahogany in color, about 1 hour. Do not let burn. Immediately remove from heat. In a medium flameproof casserole, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter with the remaining 1 teaspoon oil. Add the sliced sausage and cook over moderate heat until well browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate with a slotted spoon. Add the ham strips to the casserole and cook until lightly browned, about 7 minutes; add to the plate with the sausage slices. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and the onion to the casserole. Cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until softened and translucent, about 2 minutes. Reduce the heat to moderately low and add the garlic, green and red bell peppers, celery and rice. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes longer. Reheat the brown roux if necessary. Scrape it into the casserole with the vegetables and rice. Stir in the chicken stock and lemon juice. Bring to a boil over high heat. Add the sausages and ham, reduce the heat to moderately low and cook, covered, for 25 minutes. Stir in the cayenne, shrimp and okra and season with salt and black pepper to taste. Cook, stirring once or twice, for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. Make the topping: Preheat the oven to 450F. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Cut in the 5 1/2 tablespoons of the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the buttermilk until a soft dough forms. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough 1/2 inch thick. Using a 2 1/2 inch round cutter, stamp out 12 biscuits. Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon butter. Pour the hot gumbo into a shallow 9 inch round baking dish. Arrange the bicuits on top and brush with the melted butter. Bake until the biscuits are puffed and golden brown, about 20 minutes. -----------------------------End Recipe---------------------------- Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya 1 package chicken thighs (6 count) 1/2 package Hilshire Farms Polish Kielbasa (or other smoked sausage), sliced 1/2 bell pepper, chopped 5 stalks celery, chopped 3 large white onions, chopped (DO NOT use a food processor) 2 cloves garlic, chopped fine 1/4 cup peanut oil 2 cups white rice (regular white rice. NOT Minute rice!!!) 2 1/2 cups water 1 12oz beer (Budweiser works fine) flour to coat chicken 1 1/2 teaspoons Rosemary 1 teaspoon Thyme A handful of chopped parsley (hard to put too much) Salt to taste Lots of cayenne pepper Start off by washing the chicken and placing it skin side down on a plate (you can remove the skin if you want). Now, depending on how spicy you want it, coat the chicken with Cayenne pepper until very red (I use a LOT of Cayenne in mine). Don't worry about getting it too hot, since this is the majority of the pepper you are going to add and it will cook into the rest of the dish. Turn the chicken pieces over and lightly coat the skin side. Let sit for 15 minutes or so to soak it all up. Heat the oil in the bottom of a large heavy cast iron or aluminum pot (don't use thin aluminum or stainless steel since the rice will tend to stick and burn if you're not really careful). Place the flour in a paper bag (season the flour lightly with salt, cayenne pepper, black pepper, garlic powder, etc). Place a couple of pieces of chicken at a time into the bag and shake to coat. Fry the chicken in the oil until golden brown. Don't worry about cooking it all the way through just yet. Remove the chicken. Now place the onions, celery, garlic and bellpepper into the pot (along with a bit more oil if necessary) and saute them until the onions are transparent, scraping the bottom of the pot often. Add the rosemary, thyme and parsley and cook for a minute or so. Place the sausage slices, chicken, and a little water into the pot and mix well with the vegetables. Turn heat low, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes (until the chicken is tender). Stir the mixture frequently, always scraping the bottom to keep things from burning (break the chicken up a bit with the spatula as it cooks. It should break up naturally as the dish cooks, but this just helps things a little). When the chicken is cooked, add the washed rice and stir it into everything for a couple of minutes. Pour the warm beer and the water in and stir things for another minute or so. Taste it at this point and adjust the salt if necessary. Now, keeping the heat low, cover the pot and cook until the rice is tender (anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour). Stir the mixture every now and then, scraping the bottom of the pot. -----------------------End Recipe-------------------------- JABBALAYA 1 bunch scallions 1 bell pepper a few cloves garlic a few stalks celery meat possibilities: sausage, pork chop, chicken (dark meat), country ham. rice and water (1 lb meat with this much veggie is enough for 2-3 cups rice) a few large pinches parsley (maybe 1/4 cup) thyme, bay leaf, etc. Tony Chachere's Creole Spice (McCormick's will work in a bind) Brown the meat for a few minutes, then add the veggies to coat them with the juice. Add the water, herbs, and spice and boil till the meat is about cooked; add the rice and cook till the rice is done. Serve with Tabasco and French bread. This is a cajun recipe, to make it creole add some tomato paste, use a little more water than the rice will absorb so you have some sauce, and possibly use seafood instead of the meat. Since shrimp and crawfish cook quickly, they should be added after the rice has been going 15 minutes or so. -- Stephanie da Silva arielle@taronga.com -------------------------End Recipe------------------------- A Collection of Beans and Rice Recipes from Netters =================================================== Red Beans and Rice 1 pound red beans, soaked overnight 1 medium onion, chopped 1 bunch of green onions, chopped 7 cloves of garlic, chopped 1/2 cup parsley 1 rib celery, chopped 1/2 cup ketchup 1 bell pepper, seeded and chopped 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 2 tablespoons tabasco sauce 2 bay leaves 1 teaspoon thyme salt and pepper 1 pound smoked sausage cut into 1 inch pieces 1 pound pickled pork, rinsed and cut into cubes Cooked Rice Drain the beans. Put them in a large heavy pot and add 3 quarts of fresh water. Cover and simmer for one hour or until the beans are tender. Watch that the water does not boil down too far. The beans must be covered with water at all times. Add the rest of the ingredients, except for the rice. Add more water to cover if needed. Simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until the liquid has thickened. Serve over rice. ----------------------------- RED BEANS AND RICE 4 servings 1 lb red beans 1 1/2 lb smoked sausage, sliced 1/2 lb smoked ham shanks 1 large onion chopped 1 green pepper, seeded and chopped 1 celery stalk, chopped 1 garlic clove, finely chopped 1 t dried thyme, crumbled 1 t ground pepper 1/2 t ground sage 1 bay leaf Pinch of ground red pepper Salt Freshly Cooked Rice Place beans in Dutch oven and cover generously with water. Let soak for 30 minutes. Add all remaining ingredients to beans except salt and rice. Bring to boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until beans are tender, adding more water if necessary, about 2 1/2 hours. Add salt to taste. Remove ham bones. Remove about 3 Tablespoons of beans from mixture and mash to a paste. Return bean paste to mixture and stir. Simmer 15 more minutes and then serve hot over the rice. ------------------------------------------ Red Beans and Rice 1 pound red kidney beans 1 meaty ham bone 2 large onions, chopped 1 bell pepper, chopped 2 ribs celery, chopped 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped Salt and pepper to taste ( use Tony's if possible ) pinch of sugar 1 bay leaf ( optional ) 2 pounds Owen's spicy sausage links 1/4 cup parsley, chopped Cooked rice Soak beans overnight, rinse. Cover with water and cook with ham bone ( fat trimmed off ), onion, bell pepper, celery, salt, pepper, sugar, and bay leaf. While beans are cooking, boil sausage in skillet. Drain, fry until crisp, and set aside. Cook beans until fork tender ( 1 - 2 Hrs ); then add fried sausage. JUST before serving, remove bay leaf and add parsely. Serves 8 ( small servings ) and freezes well. Serve with corn bread and mustard greens to complete the mood. ------------------------------------------ Red Beans and Rice ( Shane's 40 min variety ) 2 cans Red Beans ( black-eyed peas also work ) 1/2 pound smoked sausage ( the smokier the better ) 1 medium to large onion, chopped 1/2 bell pepper, chopped ( too much will make it bitter ) 2 green onions ( if you have them ) 1 rib of celery, chopped ( if you have it ) 1 tsp minced garlic ( I usually get it in the little jar ) salt, pepper, red pepper, tabasco (or just Tony's if you have it) thyme and parsley ( if you have them ) a little beer ( if you're drinking one or have one handy ) a little vegetable oil uncooked rice Rinse out the Red beans in their cans and fill the cans with water, set aside. Chop up all that needs to be chopped up ( including sausage ) and get out your trusty deep black iron skillet or pot. Put enough oil to wet the bottom of the pot and start frying the sausage. After about a 1 min or so, season the sausage really well with the salt and pepper ( esp pepper ). When the sausage is about 1/2 done, stir in the onions, bell pepper, and celery. Stir fry it all until the sausage is done and the vegetables are limp. ( push the sausage to the side of the skillet if it cooks too fast and focus on the vegetables ). Pour in the beans and water, and add about another can of water ( cover all the contents and leave burner at frying setting ). Add the garlic, a few shakes of tabasco, a little ( about 2 tablespoons ) beer, a pinch of thyme, and about 1/4 cup parsley. While the mixture comes to a boil, start the rice on another burner. Keep the Red beans at a raging simmer, and stir often. When the rice is done, the beans should be about done. Cook the beans down to the desired consistancy, and squash a few beans on the bottom for a more paste like texture. Serve beans over rice with a little more pepper sprinkled on top. Serves 3. ---------------------------------------------- RED BEANS AND RICE 1 pound of small red beans 1/2 pound of ham hocks or smoked hocks (optional) (can substitute polish sausage, if you want) 1 large yellow onion, peeled and chopped 3 stalks celery, chopped 1 Tablespoon parsley 1/2 green pepper, chopped 1-2 bay leaves 2 large cloves garlic, crushed 1/8 pound margarine Pepper to taste 1 Tablespoon Worchestershire sauce Tabasco to taste Salt to taste 3 cups cooked white rice Soak beans overnight in ample water. The next day, drain the water from the beans, and place in a heavy kettle. Add the ham, onion, celery, parsley, bay leaves, and garlic, and add water to the pot barely to cover the contents. Bring to a boil, and then turn to a simmer. Simmer, uncovered, for 2 hours, being careful that the beans do not stick or become too dry. You may have to add a little water. After the initial two hours of cooking, add the margarine, pepper, Worchestershire, and Tabasco to the pot. Continue cooking for 1 more hour, this time with a lid on the pot and the heat quite low. Correct the seasonings. You may wich to add a bit of salt, but do not add salt until this point because salt cooks out of the ham (if present) and will season the beans. Serve over white rice. Pass additional Tabasco sauce for the brave! -- Stephanie da Silva Disney Afternoon Mailing List arielle@taronga.com ranger-list-request@taronga.com ==========================End Collection===================== From: hharley@athena.mit.edu (a goofy newfie) Carribean Red Beans and Rice 1 diced onion 3 cloves garlic Chop these up and toss them into a deep frying pan or a saucepan. Fry them in a little olive oil until onions are as usual, translucent. Add: 1/4 - 1/2 tsp nutmeg and cinnamon 1/2 - 1 tsp cloves. salt, black or cayenne pepper to taste (I tend to use the larger amount) Drain and reserve liquid of 1 can kidney beans. Put beans in pan, saute around a little bit. Drain and reserve liquid of 1 can (14 oz) tomatoes. Moosh tomatoes up, put them in and saute around a little bit too. Add 1 cup rice, any kind, and the appropriate amount of liquid, using the reseved kidney bean and tomato juice for some of it, and topping up with water. Cover the pan, let simmer until the rice is cooked and you have a nice thick tomatoey clovey yummy bunch of beans and rice. ----------------------------End Recipe------------------------------ From: jroth@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Jean E Roth) Caribbean Rice & Beans (from Eating Well Magazine) 1 1/2 tsp olive oil 1 large pimiento or roasted red pepper cut in short, thin strips 1/2 green pepper cut in short, thin strips 2 cloves garlic finely chopped 2-16 oz cans black beans, drained and rinsed 2 tablespoons white vinegar 5-10 dashes hot pepper sauce 3 c cooked white rice (1 cup raw) 3 T finely chopped fresh cilantro salt and pepper to taste Saute pimiento, green pepper and garlic in oil in large saute pan 2 min. Add black beans, vinegar and hot pepper sauce. When hot, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 5 min. Stir in rice and cilantro. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve with additional hot pepper sauce. Makes 6 servings. 229 cal, 2 g fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 3 mg sodium. ------------------------End Recipe-------------------------- From: clc3589@tamsun.tamu.edu (Christy Corse Kalahar) ****Easy Beans and Rice**** 2 cans of black beans (about 16 oz can I guess) 1/2 cup of onion 1 strip of bacon 4 heaping tablespoons of prepared picante sauce 2 cloves of garlic salt and pepper to taste Saute the onions in oil or non-stick spray until slightly translucent. Cut the bacon strip into about 1 inch pieces. Add the garlic and bacon to the onions and saute until the bacon is somewhat cooked but still limp. Stir in the cans of beans. Stir in about 4 heaping tablespoons of picante sauce (add more if you like). Let this simmer for about ten minutes. Keep covered and stir ocassionally. You may want to try to mash up some of the beans with the spoon. This mixture should ultimately be slightly soupy. Serve over Rice in a bowl. ---------------------------End Recipe-------------------------- From: robertson@pasadena-dc.bofa.com Cook some skinless pork sausage in a pan. Throw out most of the grease, but leave the sausage. Then saute some chopped onion with it, and at the end throw in some hoi-sin sauce (a Chinese plum-based sauce), and of course the beans. Simmer to get the flavors acquainted, Serve over rice. -------------------------End Recipe----------------------- -- Roger Joseph | Inland Steel R&D | This space for lease. E. Chicago, IN | Inquiries welcome. joseph@inland.com |