The Melting Pot 2.0/The Melting Pot 2.0.iso/food/stews/cajun02

Text File | 1995-09-27 | 13.1 KB | 312 lines

Newsgroups: rec.food.recipes
From: [e-mail] (Roger Joseph)
Subject: COLLECTION: Cajun Recipes
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Roger Joseph)
Organization: Inland Steel Company; East Chicago, IN
Date: 20 Aug 93 07:54:58 CST


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!

[e-mail]
-------------------------End Recipe--------------------------

A Collection of Gumbo Recipes from Netters
===========================================
From: "Clark Quinn" <[e-mail]>
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: [e-mail] (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: [e-mail] (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: [e-mail] (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.