Blogs / Tulsa Weekender / February 2012 / Ragin' for Cajun

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Ragin' for Cajun

Laissez les bons temps roulez! Especially in the kitchen! Mardi Gras is here, which means it’s time to kick up the flavors for Fat Tuesday. Here are a few of my favorite Cajun and Creole dishes, as well as a somewhat loudly decorated dessert from Tulsa’s Merritt’s Bakery.

Shrimp Étouffée

Recipe courtesy simplyrecipes.com; Serves 4 to 6

Étouffée basically means "smothered," and it is a common cooking technique in the South - you make a flavorful sauce and cook a meat or fish in it, not so long as a braise or stew, and not so short as a sauté. Shrimp étouffée brings together all of the hallmarks of Louisiana cooking: Seafood, a flour-and-oil roux, the "Holy Trinity" of onion, celery and green pepper, traditional Cajun seasoning and hot sauce.

Optional Shrimp Stock

• Shells from 2 pounds of shrimp
• ½ large onion, chopped
• Top and bottom from 1 green pepper
• 2  garlic cloves, chopped
• 1  celery stalk, chopped
• 5  bay leaves

Étouffée

• 2 pounds shrimp, shell on (remove shells for use in the shrimp stock, if not making your own stock, you can get shrimp already shelled)
• ¼ cup vegetable oil or lard
• Heaping ¼ cup flour
• ½ large onion, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 1-2  jalapeno peppers, chopped
• 1 large celery stalk, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 pint shrimp stock (see above), or clam juice or pre-made fish or shellfish stock
• 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
• ½ teaspoon celery seed
• 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
• Salt
• 3 green onions, chopped
• Hot sauce (Crystal or Tabasco) to taste

1. To make the shrimp stock: Pour 2 quarts of water into a pot and add all the remaining stock ingredients. Bring to a boil, drop the heat down and simmer the stock gently for 45 minutes. Strain through a fine-meshed sieve into another pot set over low heat. You will have extra stock, which you can use for soup, risotto, etc. It will last in the fridge for a week.

2. To make the étouffée, start by making a roux. Heat the vegetable oil or lard in a heavy pot over medium heat for 1-2 minutes. Stir in the flour well, making sure there no clumps. Let this cook, stirring often, until it turns a pretty brown; this should take about 10 minutes or so.

3. Add the celery, green pepper, jalapeno and onion, mix well and cook this over medium heat for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook another 2 minutes.

4. Slowly add the hot shrimp stock, stirring constantly so it incorporates. The roux will absorb the stock and seize up at first, then it will loosen. Add enough stock to make a sauce about the thickness of syrup, about 1 pint. Add the Creole seasoning, celery seed and paprika and mix well. Add salt to taste, then mix in the shrimp. Cover the pot, turn the heat to its lowest setting and cook for 10 minutes.

5. Add the green onions and hot sauce to taste. Serve over white rice.

Red Beans and Rice

Serves 6 to 8

Red beans and rice is an emblematic dish of Louisiana Creole cuisine, traditionally made on Mondays with red beans, the holy trinity of bell pepper, onion and celery, spices including thyme, cayenne pepper and bay leaf and pork bones left over from Sunday dinner. The beans are simmered low and slow and served over steamed or boiled white rice.

• 1 pound dried small red beans, picked over and rinsed
• 2 large smoked ham hocks
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 large green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 teaspoon cayenne
• ¼ bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 3 bay leaves
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 green onions, green part only, chopped, plus more for garnish
• Red pepper sauce
• 2 andouille sausages, cut into 3-inch chunks
• Cooked white rice, for serving

1. Place the dried beans in a large bowl and cover with cold water. Soak the beans overnight in the refrigerator.

2. Drain the beans and put them in a large heavy pot with the ham hocks, adding just enough cold water to cover (about 2 quarts). Add the onion, celery, green pepper, cayenne, parsley, thyme, bay leaves, garlic, green onions, and several shakes of red pepper sauce; give everything a good stir to combine. Simmer, uncovered, until the beans are tender and starting to thicken, about 2½  hours. You want the beans to be almost overcooked, like they are getting ready to burst. Stir the beans occasionally to prevent scorching on the bottom of the pot. Add about 1 cup of water toward the end of cooking if the mixture appears too thick or dry.

3. Mash about 1 cup of the cooked beans against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon, this makes the broth thick and creamy. Toss in the sausages and cook for another 30 minutes to heat them through. Adjust the seasoning, if needed. Serve the red beans in a wide bowl over some steamed white rice and garnished with chopped green onion.

Hurricane

Makes one cocktail

Garnished with an orange slice and a cherry, the fruity red concoction was created during World War II when liquor such as whiskey was in low supply. In order to purchase just one case of these liquors, liquor salesmen forced bar owners to purchase as much as 50 cases of rum, which was plentiful. In an effort to use the abundance of rum that Pat O'Brien's, the popular New Orleans bar and restaurant, acquired, the recipe for the Hurricane evolved with the help of an eager liquor salesman. The name came soon after when a glass shaped like a hurricane lamp was used to serve the fruity rum cocktail. Ubiquitous with Mardis Gras, this fruity concoction is now served at every bar in the French Quarter.

• 2 ounces light rum
• 2 ounces dark rum
• 2 ounces passion fruit juice
• 1 ounce orange juice
• ½ ounce fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon simple syrup
• 1 tablespoon Grenadine
• Orange slice and cherry for garnish

Shake all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and strain into a Hurricane glass filled with ice. Garnish with a cherry and an orange slice.

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A king of a cake

Mardi Gras season officially begins on Jan. 6 every year (12th Night of Christmas), known to Christians as the Epiphany. The Epiphany has been observed as the day the three wise men finally found the infant Jesus.  King Cakes were initiated to celebrate this holy day and a small doll is placed in each cake as a symbol of finding the baby Jesus. While it is possible to make these sweet treats at home, it will take a while. I like to leave the decorating to the pros and focus on the beans and rice.

Merritt’s Bakery’s King Cakes are oval shaped sweet bread loaves iced and decorated in the representative colors of green (faith), gold (power) and purple (justice). As the cake is cut, each person looks to see if his piece contains the small baby.  The person who finds the baby brings a King Cake to the next celebration.

King Cakes are $22 at Merritt's Bakery and come in cinnamon, strawberry or cream cheese.  You can also enjoy a mini King Cake all to yourself in cinnamon for just $3.50!

Merritt’s Bakery: several locations in the Tulsa area, www.merrittsbakery.com