Recipes

Cajun History: From France to Southern Louisiana

For the Cajuns, the trip from France to Southern Louisiana was long and hard. Early in the 17th Century, rugged French settlers immigrated to a part of Canada called Acadia, now known as Nova Scotia. They lived off the land and sea until 1755 when the British took over Canada.

Refusing to give up their language and religion and unwilling to pledge allegiance to England, the French "Acadians" were deported. After searching for a new home for years, many finally found a place in Southern Louisiana where other French settlers had lived for generations and who shared their language and religion. Coming from a rural background, the Acadians gravitated to the bayous and marshlands and started learning how to live off a new and different land. Eventually, these Acadians would become known as Cajuns.

Cajun Specialties

Cajun cooking is a tribute to the spirit of French people who settled in Southern Louisiana. The environment was certainly difficult, but the land was fertile, the climate provided for a long growing season, and the swamps and waterways teamed with game and fish.

With their appetite for life and food, it's not surprising that the Cajuns take pride in their love of fiery dishes seasoned with hot peppers and pepper sauce. In her book, Cajun Foodways, Paige Gutierrez quotes one Cajun as saying, "When you eat Cajun food, you don't have to fantasize about the taste."

Cajuns like to cook everything in one pot, probably a result of their rural lifestyle. Whatever the reason, it has produced a variety of distinctive dishes that are combinations of meat, seafood, game, vegetables, and often rice. Gumbo, fricassee, etouffee and jambalaya vary as much as the cooks who make them and the ingredients available to them. In the marshlands these dishes are more likely to contain seafood; further north and inland the Cajuns will use more beef and poultry.

Like other Southerners, Cajuns have always had a fondness for pork and have developed a variety of ways to prepare and preserve it. Originally prepared at home, local grocery stores and meat markets now provide seasoned sausages, like andouille and boudin; tasso, a seasoned cured ham used for seasoning; and cracklins, the crisp pieces of rendered pork fat eaten as a snack or added to breads.

Of course, no discussion of Cajun cooking would be complete without mentioning crawfish, which has become a symbol of Cajun pride. Bumper stickers, tee shirts and festivals celebrate the tasty little crustaceans that resemble miniature lobsters. For many years crawfish were a nutritious and free part of the Cajun diet, but the popularity of Cajun cooking sparked an interest in crawfish outside its Louisiana home. Now the crawfish industry is big business and they are distributed all over the world.

Ingredients:

1 pound lean ground beef 
1 1/2 cups uncooked white rice, divided 
1 teaspoon dried onion 
1 teaspoon seasoned salt 
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning 
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice 
1 (14-ounce) can beef broth

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Put the ground beef into a mixing bowl. Measure 1/2 cup of the rice and put it in with the meat. Mix it all together with your clean hands. Form the mixture into 8 or 9 golf ball-size balls.

In a large casserole dish, add the remaining rice, dried onion, salt, Italian seasoning, diced tomatoes and beef broth. Stir together with the spoon and top with the meatballs.

Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake for about 1 hour. The rice in the meatballs will have puffed up all around the meat, and your meatballs will look like little porcupines!

Ingredients:

1 24-ounce Jar Kosher dill pickle spears or slices
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup Louisiana hot sauce (I like Texas Pete)
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 gal peanut oil
2 cups fry mix

Directions

Drain the juice from the pickle jar and refill the jar with the garlic powder, hot sauce, and buttermilk. Marinate the pickles for at least 30 minutes.

In a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, heat the oil to 350 degrees F. Drain the pickles. Put the fry mix in a large mixing bowl, and toss the pickles to coat thoroughly. Shake off the excess mix by tossing lightly in a strainer and deep fry the pickles in batches for 3 to 5 minutes, depending on the size of the spears.

When golden brown, remove the pickles from the oil with a clean strainer or slotted metal spoon and place on paper towels to drain off any excess oil. Serve immediately.

Ingredients

• 1 (6 ounce) can tuna, drained
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/3 cup minced onion
• 1/4 cup minced celery
• 1/4 cup minced red bell pepper
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons chili sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 dash hot pepper sauce
• 1 dash Worcestershire sauce
• 4 hamburger buns
• 1 tomato, sliced
• 4 leaves of lettuce (optional)

Directions

1. Combine tuna, egg, bread crumbs, onion, celery, red bell pepper, mayonnaise, hot chili sauce, chili sauce, dill, salt, pepper, hot pepper sauce and Worcestershire sauce. Mix well. Shape into 4 patties (mixture will be very soft and delicate). Refrigerate for 30 minutes to make the patties easier to handle, if desired.
2. Coat a non-stick skillet with cooking spray; fry tuna patties for about 3 to 4 minutes per side, or until cooked through. These are fragile, so be careful when turning them.
3. Serve on buns with tomato slices and lettuce leaves, if desired.

Ingredients

• 8 tilapia fillets
• 15 limes, juiced
• 1 large tomato, finely diced
• 1 large red onion, finely diced
• 2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and finely diced
• 1/2 bunch finely chopped cilantro
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Chop the raw tilapia into small pieces, and place in a large bowl. Pour in enough lime juice to cover the fish.
2. Mix the tomato, red onion, and cucumbers into the bowl. Stir in the cilantro. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Allow the ceviche to marinate, refrigerated, for at least an hour. Taste for seasoning before serving; add salt and pepper if necessary.

Ingredients

• 1 cup dried bread crumbs
• 1 cup crab meat
• 1 cup small shrimp
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, toss together 3/4 cup breadcrumbs, crab, shrimp, green onions, celery, mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce and parsley. Mix well, and spoon mixture into clean, dry seafood shells or ramekins. Place stuffed shells on a foil-lined cookie sheet, and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup bread crumbs.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.

Ingredients

• 12 large shrimp
• 6 ounces provolone cheese, cut into 12 strips
• 1/4 cup green chile peppers, diced
• 6 slices bacon, cut in half
• 1/4 cup barbecue sauce

Directions

1. Peel, devein and butterfly the shrimp or prawns. (To butterfly shrimp: Split shrimp down the center, cutting almost completely through.)
2. Insert a strip of provolone cheese and 1 teaspoon of the diced green chilies into each shrimp. Fold over the shrimp and wrap with a half strip of bacon. Secure with wooden picks.
3. Cook shrimp on grill, basting with your favorite barbecue sauce, until bacon is cooked and shrimp is pink.