Creole and Cajun Cuisine (Engl)

What is the difference between Creole and Cajun cooking?

Creole and Cajun cooking styles originated in Louisiana.

Many Creoles were rich planters and their kitchens aspired to grande cuisine. Their food is heavily influenced by French, Spanish, German and Italian cuisine. By using classic French techniques with local foodstuffs, they created a whole new cuisine, Creole cooking.

Cajun cooking originated with a group of people who had their roots in France but were immigrants to Canada. They were exiled from the Acadia region of Nova Scotia in Canada and eventually settled into the swamps and bayous of southern Louisiana. They are known as Acadians and have their own cultural group with their own language. Ingredients for Cajun cooking came from the swamps and bayous, and include wild game, seafood, wild vegetation and herbs. It is cooked in a single black iron pot. Cajun food was also influenced by the Native American and German neighbors of the Acadians.
The Acadians were a tough people used to living under strenuous conditions. They tended to serve strong country food prepared from locally available ingredients. It was pungent, peppery and practical since it was all cooked in a single pot. Thus Cajun cuisine was born.

While both cuisines are distinct, there are cross references. Rice is a staple of both and Creole and Cajun chefs usually start dish by making a roux of oil and flour. In addition, there are many common ingredients such as crab, river shrimp, lake shrimp, oysters, crawfish, freshwater and saltwater fish, plus squirrels, wild turkeys, ducks, frogs, turtles, pork, homemade sausages, beans of all kinds, tomatoes, okra, yams, pecans, oranges and wines, liqueurs and brandy.



Gumbos are the kings of soups, and there are as many varieties as there are Louisianians.


Cajun Gumbo with Shrimp and Sausage (Engl)







Lousiana Boil Recipe (Engl)

Ingredients:

4 pounds small red potatoes
2 onions quartered
5 quarts water seasoned with salt
4 tablespoons Old bay Seasoning
2 pounds Polska Kielbasa, 1/1/2 inch cuts
6 ears of corn, cut in half
2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and devained
2 pound crab clusters
Instructions
Add potatoes and quartered onions to a large pot cover with cold water that is salted. Cover and bring to a boil. Add sausage and corn, cook 7 more minutes and the potatoes are tender. Add the seafood, cook 3 minutes until the shrimp are firm and pink, drain and eat!




Shrimp Creole




Sausage and Shrimp Jambalaya with Brown Rice





Shrimp and Andouille Gumbo (Engl)





Creole in a Bowl (from Good Eats) (1/2) (Engl)

Join host Alton Brown as he explores the many historical and cultural influences that give us a New Orleans classic, Beans and Rice.




(2/2)





Mahi-Mahi Fish with Plantain in a Coconut Batter (Engl)

Most people would associate creole cooking with New Orleans, but the Caribbean also has a rich tradition of creole cuisines. This video was filmed in the beautiful island of Dominica and shows how to make marinated mahi-mahi fish with plantain in a coconut batter.




Ingredients:


Creole Seasoning

1/2 tsp. of the following:

•salt
•black pepper
•cayenne pepper
•onion powder
•garlic powder
•paprika

Gumbo

(Bell Pepper)

•1 lb andouille sausage (Portuguese linguica or Italian sausage can be substituted)
•4 whole chicken breasts (boneless)
•2 cups okra, chopped
•3 quarts chicken broth (stock)
•1 cup oil
•1-1/2 cups flour
•3-4 cloves of garlic
•2 tablespoons filé powder (ground sassafras)
•1 cup cooked rice
•2 cups diced onions
•1 cup diced bell pepper
•1 cup celery, chopped