Cajun & Creole

The name “dirty rice” doesn’t sound very appealing, but it is an enjoyable combination of creamy rice, savory vegetables, full-flavored chicken liver, and a heavy hand of intense spice. It’s an odd conglomeration of a Cajun stir-fry and soft, comforting rice. This is, like many other country recipes, a way to make a filling meal out of a potpourri of simple, inexpensive ingredients. The chopped liver is what gives it the dark, “dirty” color. Dirty rice is like many old-school recipes—everyone has a different way to prepare it. However, most versions contain the holy trinity of Cajun cooking: bell pepper, onion, and celery. I am not so fond of green bell peppers. They come back to say “hello” a little too often. I prefer poblano chiles, which are just slightly spicier than a green bell pepper, and I suggest using it here.

We moved to Louisiana from Evans, Georgia, when I was three years old. I remember the feeling of the winter’s morning we left; it was cold, and still dark outside. Up to that point I had spent every day of my short life with Meme and Dede, and I think our leaving broke my grandfather’s heart, at least for a little while. One benefit of the big move was that Mama started experimenting with Cajun and Creole cooking. This recipe became a family favorite, and one Dede particularly enjoyed when they came to visit. When buying shrimp, look for firm shrimp with a mild, almost sweet scent. If there is any scent of ammonia, it is a sign that the shrimp is no longer fresh.

To quote the regional cookbook Louisiana Entertains, “Good gumbos are like good sunsets: no two are exactly alike, and their delight lies in their variety.” All gumbos use a roux. However, in addition to a roux, some gumbos flavor and thicken with okra and others call for filé powder. Integral to Creole and Cajun cooking, filé powder is made from the dried leaves of the sassafras tree. It is used not only to thicken gumbo but also to impart its mild, lemon flavor. Filé powder should be stirred into gumbo toward the end of cooking or it will become tough and stringy.

A Cajun specialty, étouffée is a succulent, tangy, tomato sauce usually made with crawfish or shrimp. The word étouffée comes from the French étouffer (to smother), and that’s it exactly: rich and tender crawfish tails smothered in a spicy blanket of flavorful sauce. “First, you make a roux” is the start of many Creole and Cajun recipes (it’s also the title of a popular cookbook from Louisiana published by the Lafayette Museum in the early 1960s). Roux is a cooked mixture of fat (butter) and starch (flour) used to thicken many sauces in classic French cooking. A Creole roux is not the classic French butter-flour mixture, but sometimes combines flour with an oil like peanut oil that can hold a high temperature. Unlike a French roux, which can be white to pale golden, Creole and Cajun roux are typically, at the very least, the color of peanut butter and progress to deep, dark brown. This process can take 45 minutes or so of constant stirring. It is dangerous stuff. If any splatters on you, it will be perfectly clear why this fiery, sticky combination of oil and flour is often referred to as “Cajun napalm”!

Like much of the world’s good cooking, Creole and Cajun dishes are often whipped up on the spur of the moment using what’s on hand. Gumbo’s hallmark seasoning is filé powder (pronounced “fee-LAY”), made from dried, ground sassafras leaves, which provide both flavoring and thickening. Filé powder is traditionally added at the very end of the cooking time so it does not lose its flavor or aroma.

I fell in love with this dish the first time I tried it in New Orleans. The combination of rice, tomatoes, shrimp, chicken, and andouille sausage is the epitome of Cajun cooking. This version isn’t particularly spicy, so make sure to serve it with some hot sauce on the side for more adventurous eaters.

When we were on a family vacation in New Orleans we came across a store in the French Quarter that had daily cooking classes. We decided to sign up for a class (it got us out of going to another museum with our dad), and it turned out to be a blast. We learned to make several different Cajun dishes, but this was my favorite. I love the beans, but we also learned the secret to making the best cornbread ever—add lots of milk and sprinkle sugar on the top.

This soup was a favorite discovery of mine while traveling through New Orleans and across the American South many years ago. It’s still a soup love to make when in the mood for eggplant.

We always have a red rice dish on the buffet table at The Lady & Sons. Here we added beef to the skillet to turn our Cajun-influenced red rice dish into an easy crowd-pleaser. Since we’re on the Georgia coast, we’ll also do red rice with sausage and shrimp, so you can use that instead if you like: Just brown crumbled sausage in place of the beef and stir in a half pound of shelled shrimp for the last five minutes of simmering (or until they’re pink).

There is an old Louisiana legend that says that when the original Acadians fled Nova Scotia to head to Louisiana, the local lobsters followed them. During the long swim the lobsters lost a lot of weight and most of their length. By the time they reached the bayou swamps to reunite with the early Cajuns, they had turned into crawfish! Crawfish, mudbugs, or crawdads—whatever you decide to call them, they’re delicious. With Texas being so close to bayou country, we can’t help but love these cute crustaceans. Though resembling tiny lobsters, only the extremely tasty tail is edible. When they are cooked with spicy Cajun flavors, you have yourself a mighty fine treat. Just remember that Louisiana crawfish are seasonal. A consistent supply can’t be counted on except between early March and mid-June, with the height of the season mid-March to mid-May. If crawfish are not available, peeled and deveined shrimp serve as a good substitute.

Most crawfish bread recipes are made with a hollowed-out loaf of French bread. Here the crawfish filling is enrobed in a tender ricotta dough, making these more like turnovers. Whether you make them small for pick-up party food or a more substantial calzone-like size, these are perfect for tailgating or game-day parties.

The amount of crab and shrimp you need will depend on appetites and on how well your guests know each other. When you serve crabs in mixed company, even dear friends will shock you with their daintiness, but if it’s a family dinner, as ours is tonight, you might expect people to put away eight or ten crabs apiece. If crabs aren’t available, a seafood boil is equally delicious with just shrimp, especially if they are wild ones, still fresh enough to have their heads on.

If you like gumbo, you will like this one-dish beef meal. This recipe lends itself well to experimentation, so try different vegetables and beans for variety. To stretch the number of servings, ladle the mixture over steamed brown rice.

This mildly seasoned fish with its medley of Creole veggies is wonderful over steamed brown rice.

This Cajun dish is so associated with good times that Hank Williams named a song after it. The original isn’t so good for you, though. I made a few changes to the classic to make it easier to prepare—and much healthier. White rice has been replaced with brown, and much less fat is used to cook the vegetables and meat. Feel free to improvise by adding chicken, fish, or vegetables.

Po’ boys are a kind of sub sandwich from the sultry state of Louisiana, consisting of fried meat or fish served on a crispy French-style baguette. Traditionally they are made with fried shrimp or oysters, though soft-shell crabs, catfish, crawfish, Louisiana hot sausage, and roast beef have been known to make an appearance. Served hot, the shellfish, fish, or meat is dressed with some combination of lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, pickles, onions, and mustard or a spicy mayo. In this version the fat and calories are reduced to a fraction of the original by faux frying the shrimp, using low-fat mayonnaise, and replacing the traditional white-flour baguette with sprouted-grain bread.

This jumble is a lot like jambalaya, so I call it a Jumble-laya. This is one of those flexible recipes. You can substitute turkey or tender cuts of pork and beef for the chicken. Go all seafood by bumping up the amount of shrimp and adding crabmeat at the end to just heat it through. Andouille sausage is a spicy, smoky sausage with a flavor that packs a punch. It is used in Cajun-style food and is a staple in gumbo and jambalaya. Is okra not your thing? Substitute frozen defrosted French-cut green beans.