Cajun

We are great fans of all things Cajun: the food, the music and the people. When Burk’s in Ballard closed years ago, it left a huge void in our dining routine. It was at that point we started making Cajun food at home. Our version of Shrimp and Grits is inspired by a dish at one of Dave’s favorite restaurants, The Cajun Queen, in Charlotte, NC, as well as recipes from Emeril and John Besh. We first posted this about a year ago. We wanted to update it with better photos. Enjoy!

Shrimp and Andouille Sausage Etouffee

6 Tablespoons High Heat Oil

1/2 cup flour

2 Cups chopped onion

1 cup chopped green pepper

1 cup chopped celery

2 cloves minced garlic

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or more to taste

2 tablespoons salt free Cajun seasoning

1 Tablespoon marjoram

1 quart seafood stock – homemade or Kitchen Basics

1 15oz. can diced, fire roasted tomatoes

1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined

3-4 Andouille sausage (we love Whole Foods version)

1/2 cup sliced green onion for garnish

Chop all your vegetables and set aside in a bowl. Heat the oil in a heavy Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the flour and stir constantly to make a roux. Continue to cook until the roux is the color of milk chocolate. Do not turn up the heat and rush this process as it can burn quickly. This process should take 7-9 minutes.

Add the chopped vegetables and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring often.

Add the tomatoes, bay leaves, salt, cayenne, marjoram and Cajun seasoning. Cook for about 3 minutes and then stir in the seafood stock. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer. While the etouffee is simmering, grill the sausages. (This adds a wonderful depth of flavor. You can brown them in a frying pan, if you’d rather not grill them.) You do not need to cook them all the way through, you are just getting color on them.

Let the sausages settle about 10 minutes after removing them from the grill. Slice into bite size slices. Add them to the etouffee and continue to simmer very low for another hour or more. (The longer the better as the sauce reduces and thickens and the flavors concentrate.) Taste for seasoning. You may need to add salt, pepper, additional cayenne. About 30 minutes before serving, prepare the grits. Add the shrimp into the pot 5-7 minutes before serving. Simmer gently – do not boil, as you will over cook the shrimp.

Stone Ground White Grits with White Cheddar Cheese

We love the Stone Ground White Grits from Geechie Boy Mill, Edisto Island, SC. (You can order them on-line.) John Besh loves them too, as we received a new package in our February Besh Box!

To prepare the grits

Heat 3 cups of milk, 2 Tablespoons of butter and one teaspoon of salt to a slow simmer. Add in 1 cup of grits. Bring back to a simmer, cover and cook about 20 minutes.

Add 1 cup grated, sharp white cheddar cheese and 1/4 cup sliced green onion, at the end of the cooking process.

To serve, place a small scoop of grits on a plate and add a spoonful of the etouffee. Garnish with sliced green onion.

Bon Appetite!

We first started making Cajun style food at home, when one of our all time favorite restaurants, Berk’s in Ballard, closed years ago. We still miss Berk’s and always compare our food to what we would have ordered there. Dave’s love of Cajun food grew even stronger with frequent visits to The Cajun Queen in Charlotte, NC, during the six months he lived there for work.

I am certain I will get emails telling me that our version of Gumbo is not authentic – which I will acknowledge right now. Our recipes are suited to our tastes and have come together after reading Gumbo recipes from John Besh, Emeril, The Junior League of Lafayette, The Cajun Gourmet: Carlo Di Napoli, Paul Prudhomme, Justin Wilson and many others. This is about a 3 hour preparation, so plan accordingly.

Need some Cajun inspiration to get you started? Check out Dave singing Jambalaya with our friends The Hank Williams Review, at our wedding a “few” years ago!

Laura and Dave’s Gumbo

For the roux

3/4 cup of High Heat Oil – I like Spectrum High Heat Sunflower Oil

3/4 cup of flour

Heat the oil in a large, very heavy stock pot. Heat over medium high heat, to just about smoking. Add the flour, stir constantly to bring the roux to the color of peanut butter. If it starts to smoke, turn it down a little. You will know if you have burnt it and need to start over, as it will smell burnt! This process should take about 30 minutes, or as Emeril once told me – about the time it takes to drink two beers!

2 cups diced celery

2 cups diced onion

2 cups diced green pepper

Add half the diced vegetables to the finished roux, stirring well. Let cook about 10 minutes. Add the remaining vegetables and cook another ten minutes. (Adding them all at once puts too much water into the mixture and will stop the cooking.)

1 22 ounce bottle of dark beer

1 quart (32 ounce) seafood stock

1 16 ounce can diced tomatoes with juice

Add the beer and simmer about 5 minutes to reduce the alcohol. Stir in the stock and the diced tomatoes.

Next, add the seasonings. You will adjust the seasoning throughout the cooking process. Start with the lowest recommended amount first!

4-6 Tablespoons Cajun Seasoning (make sure it is salt free, so you can control the salt)

1 Tablespoon Marjoram

2 Bay Leaves

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Kosher salt

Fresh ground black pepper

Simmer the mixture over low heat about 40 minutes. While the mixture is simmering, grill the sausage and chicken thighs to add color and flavor. You are not cooking them all the way through. Let the sausage and chicken cool before adding back into the pot, to ensure they retain their juices.

8-10 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, seasoned with a little Cajun seasoning, salt and pepper

6-8 Andouille Sausage (we love the Pork Andouille sausage from Whole Foods)

Add the chicken thighs and the sausage to the gumbo and continue to simmer over very low heat about an hour. Adjust for seasoning….Does it need more Cajun spice, cayenne, salt, pepper? We do not cut the sausage up. We have found leaving them whole keeps them a lot juicer.

2 cups sliced okra (we use frozen)

At the end of one hour, add the frozen okra. Continue to cook another hour. Once again, adjust for seasoning….Does it need more Cajun spice, cayenne, salt, pepper?

Add the shrimp about 30 minutes prior to serving. Simmer very gently. Overcooking the shrimp will make them tough and rubbery. Adding the shrimp at the same time you start the rice, will ensure everything is ready to go at once.

1 pound 21/25 count raw, peeled/deveined tail-on shrimp

Diced green onions for garnish

Cooked white rice for serving

To plate, place a scoop of rice on a plate or bowl. Add a scoop of gumbo and garnish with sliced green onion. Serve with a crisp green salad and fresh, crusty bread.

Laura and Dave’s Gumbo – Ingredient List