Posted on 02/11/2018 3:32:57 PM PST by nickcarraway
Mardi Gras is a time to celebrate New Orleans culture, and what better way to do that than by making delicious South Louisiana dishes to share with family and friends.
We've combed our recipe archive and come up with a batch of tried-and-tested recipes for you to consider. We've included classics as well as an eclectic batch of dishes that would be excellent for pre- or post-parade parties during Carnival. They are highlighted below.
If you want to search for others, check out our database of thousands of recipes.
Also, if you have a recipe or another variation on one of these dishes and want to share it with us, leave it in the comments or shoot me an email at amaloney@nola.com.
Now, let's start the way Hank Williams did singing jambalaya, crawfish pie and filé gumbo...
Happy Mardi Gras!
Editor's note: This article was originally published on MardiGras.com in 2017.
Lee LaFleur's jambalaya
JAMBALAYA This dish is so versatile. Have seafood lovers in the house? Make it with fish or shrimp. If you are meat eaters, fill it with sausage and chicken. This basic recipe easy to vary. Find recipe here. Watch food writer Judy Walker make it here. For another great jambalaya, check out this one from Lee LaFleur (pictured). Find it here.
CRAWFISH PIE When food writer Judy Walker made this pie, I was so bowled over that I had to go home and make it myself. It's foolproof! Find recipe here.
GUMBO Many variations of this dish exist in homes and restaurants. How do you like to make yours? Here is a chicken and sausage gumbo recipe to consider. Filé, or ground sassafras, is optional, of course. Find a recipe here.
Or, go to NOLA.com/food, and type gumbo into your searchable recipe file for more options.
(Excerpt) Read more at nola.com ...
My wife had a really good recipe and then we got a personal cook book from a friend whose parents were icons on the MS Gulf Coast for a looooong time. The book is his mother's recipes and has some very good ones including the Cajun cooking.
Justin, is dat you?
Creole is easy
It’s basically a light roux gumbo with tomato sauce and lotsa shrimp and no other meat
Double bell peppers and add later than usual and cook say 30 minutes so The trinity vegetables are still well defined
Not lost like in gumbo
Add the shrimp about 10-12 min. before serving ,doesn't take long, the same goes for oysters .
I hear today Cochon in the CBD in New Orleans is hard to beat...excellent roux..I can look at that roux and I just know it's top shelf and took time....looks like chicken gumbo ..
and never marginalize the ubiquitous Gumbo Shop on St Peter in the Quarter, it's very dependable and decent version..note non gummy rice...it's better that way
Not nearly as many of the old places around after the advent of the casinos and then Katrina.
After spending many years in the oilfields\gas fields of South Louisiana I learned to appreciate the food of the Cajuns. Thanks for posting.
That’s real similar to my grandmother’s recipe that I use. Her New Orlean’s roots went back to its founding so I imagine her recipe is an old one... she worked off of memory but someone wrote it down for me, probably an aunt. The little town of Buras was her family’s home.
My grandparents moved from New Orleans to west Texas in the 1920s meaning that seafood wasn’t practical so chicken and ham bits were substituted. Frozen shrimp if they were available. Bell pepper wasn’t used, I believe because it didn’t agree with someone. Chicken stock was the broth base. Thyme, basil and bay leaf the primary spices other than salt and pepper. And a cayenne pepper grown in their yard. Served over a bed of white rice.
Thanks for this; and for the shrimp recipe!
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