Indigenous Herbs Nova Scotia Articles & Resources

Cajun is country food, developed in the swamps by refugees from Nova Scotia. Creole is sophisticated city food, developed in New Orleans by its earliest aristocratic settlers. "Cajun is so specifically country, rural cuisine," says chef John Folse, proprietor of Lafitte's Landing in Donaldsonville, La. "In most cases, I think of it as the food of home, foods that would be piled on a plate, using the swamp floor as the pantry, so to speak." River Road Crawfish Stew is a good example. Cooked in a single pot, it starts with a dark Cajun roux and readily available ingredients like crawfish, celery, garlic and onions. Cajun cooking reflects the ingenuity, creativity and adaptability necessary for sheer survival, chef Folse says. Many Acadians fled to Louisiana in the mid-1700s after being booted from Nova Scotia, or L'Acadia. "`Cajun' is short for Acadian 'Cad-yun (ian)," says Emeril Lagasse, a New Orleans restaurateur and TV chef, who bristles at the label. "It's not considered polite by the Acadians." Nevertheless, Cajun has stuck over the years. Armed with their black iron pots and relieved to be left alone in the back country, Cajuns quickly adapted indigenous ingredients, such as wild game, seafood, wild vegetation and herbs, to create their signature one-pot meals, chef Folse says. But some foods, like red beans, show the persistence of the Cajuns' French heritage. "Most dishes require a lot of simmering," says chef Lagasse, who has written a cookbook with Marcelle Bienvenu on Acadian cooking called "Louisiana Real and Rustic" (William Morrow, $25). It's due in stores in August. By contrast, Creole food is heir to the great cuisines of Europe, the product of New Orleans' early and wealthy kitchens. "Creole is the aristocracy of cuisines," says PBS TV chef Folse, who spent years documenting the development of Louisiana food for "The Evolution of Cajun & Creole Cuisine" (Chef John Folse & Co., 1989). Creole is the food of New Orleans, he says, which was a melting pot of European influences, starting in the late 17th century. The word "Creole" means a mix of cultures, chef Folse says; the French and Spanish especially sought to adapt their elaborate Old World recipes paella, bouillabaisse to New World ingredients. Creole cooking survives today in dishes like crab and rice casserole, which took advantage of dairy products supplied by the Germans. Virtually all of the fancier foods you see on menus such as crab cakes with remoulade sauce, anything "Rockefeller," dishes prepared a la meuniere or with beurre blanc are Creole. And any Louisiana dish that's spicy has Creole roots. Exotic spices were so valued by the early Creoles, chef Folse says, that they were kept under lock and key in "screamer chests," metal boxes with extra tight-fitting lids. "When you turned the lid, it would screech and alert the mistress that somebody was in the spice," he says. Chef Folse believes jambalaya evolved from the Spanish paella and that gumbo was an adaptation of French bouillabaisse. Etouffee is a corruption of the French "estouffade," a type of stew, according to Kevin Graham, a New Orleans restaurateur and author of "Creole Flavors" (Artisan, $25). Even among dishes and foods claimed by both Cajun and Creole cooks, there are sharp distinctions in style. Take gumbos. "If it's Creole, you can see the bottom of the bowl," chef Folse says. "If it's Cajun, you can't." One is a refined soup, the other a hearty stew. Two vegetables came to Louisiana through the Creole kitchen, only to become Cajun classics. Okra, or gumbo, as the Africans called it, quickly became a Cajun staple. So did mirliton (chayote squash), a pale green squash that the Cajuns loved to stuff. And tomatoes are ubiquitous in both traditions. "In Creole cooking, it became the very foundation of the cuisine," chef Folse says. "The marinara became crawfish etouffee, jambalaya. "The Cajuns liked it because it was easy to grow and adapted to the swamplands and could be adapted to dishes like jambalaya, rice dishes, gumbos." This recipe is from "Chef John Folse's Plantation Celebrations." Creole Crab and Rice Casserole 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter 1 pound sharp cheddar cheese, grated, or process cheese 1 cup milk 1/2 cup finely diced onions 1/2 cup finely diced celery 1/2 cup finely diced green bell pepper 1/2 cup finely diced red bell pepper 1/4 cup finely diced garlic 1/2 cup sliced green onions 1/4 cup chopped parsley Salt and pepper Hot pepper sauce 1 cup crab meat (jumbo lump if available, shells picked out) 2 cups cooked white rice 2 eggs, well beaten Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In small Dutch oven, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add cheese and milk, stirring constantly until cheese has melted. Remove from heat and add onions, celery, bell peppers, garlic, green onions and parsley, blending well. Season to taste with salt, pepper and pepper sauce. You may wish to overseason, since the rice will need the additional flavor. Fold in crab meat and rice and gently stir until well incorporated. Stir in eggs, cover and bake until casserole is firmly set, about 45 minutes. Makes 6 servings. Per serving: 540 calories, 36g fat, 191mg cholesterol, 1,033mg sodium. Calories from fat: 59%. The next two recipes are from "The Evolution of Cajun & Creole Cuisine." Cajun Stuffed Mirliton 3 mirlitons (chayote squash), sliced lengthwise (see note) 1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 6 teaspoons butter (divided) 1 cup chopped onions 1 chopped celery 1/2 cup chopped bell pepper 1/2 cup sliced green onions 1/4 cup diced garlic 1/2 pound diced ham 1 cup rich chicken stock, if needed 1 cup tiny shrimp, peeled and deveined Salt and pepper to taste 1/4 cup chopped parsley 11/2 cups seasoned Italian bread crumbs Boil mirlitons in lightly salted water until flesh is tender enough to scoop from shells. Cool under tap water. Using a spoon, scoop out and discard seeds; gently scoop out flesh and set it and shells aside. In 4-quart saucepan, melt 1 stick butter over medium-high heat. Saute onions, celery, bell pepper, green onions, garlic and diced ham. Cook until vegetables are wilted, about 15 minutes. Add chicken stock as needed if vegetables become too dry during cooking. Add reserved mirliton flesh and shrimp; continue cooking until well incorporated, about 25 to 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Remove vegetable-shrimp mixture from heat and season with salt and pepper to taste; add parsley. Sprinkle in enough bread crumbs to absorb any excess liquid. Stuff mixture into mirliton shells. Place stuffed shells in a baking pan and top each with 1 teaspoon butter; sprinkle on remaining bread crumbs. Bake until golden brown. Makes 6 servings. Note: Chayote squash are available at some specialty food stores (call first; it may have to be special-ordered) and farmers markets. Per serving: 398 calories, 24g fat, 28mg cholesterol, 1,371 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 54%. Cajun River Road Crawfish Stew 1 cup vegetable oil 1 cup flour 2 cups chopped onions 1 cup chopped celery 1 cup chopped bell pepper 2 tablespoons diced garlic 2 pounds cleaned crawfish tails 1/4 cup tomato sauce 4 to 5 quarts crawfish stock, shellfish stock or fish stock (see note) or water 1 cup chopped green onions 1 cup chopped parsley Salt Cayenne pepper Hot pepper sauce 2 cups cooked white rice In a 2-gallon stock pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Using a wire whisk, slowly add the flour, stirring constantly until dark brown roux is achieved (nut brown, but not chocolate brown), about 10 minutes. Add onions, celery, bell pepper and garlic and saute until vegetables are wilted, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add crawfish and cook until meat is pink and slightly curled. Stir in tomato sauce and slowly add stock, stirring constantly until stewlike consistency is achieved. Add more stock for consistency, as needed. Bring to a rolling boil, reduce heat to simmer and cook 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add green onions and parsley and season to taste with salt, pepper and hot pepper sauce. Serve over white rice. Makes 6 servings. Note: Fish stock can be purchased at some fish stores but is expensive; homemade fish stock can be made by simmering fish bones (available from fish merchants) with water, white wine, celery, onion, black peppercorns and other seasonings. Consult a seafood cookbook for a recipe. Chicken broth can be substituted; the flavor will be different but is still compatible. Per serving: 681 calories, 39g fat, 269mg cholesterol, 582mg sodium. Calories from fat: 51%. The following recipe is from "Creole Flavors." Creole Pralines 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter 1 cup whipping cream 21/4 cups packed dark brown sugar 2 cups vanilla sugar (see recipe) 2 cups pecan pieces Line 2 large baking sheets with wax paper. In heavy saucepan, combine butter, cream and sugars. Bring to boil over high heat and stir in pecans. Return to boil, stir, then remove from heat. Drop mixture from soup spoon onto wax paper to make 11/2-inch circles. Work quickly, as the mixture will crystallize rapidly. Allow the pralines to harden at room temperature for 6 hours. Carefully peel pralines from wax paper and store in airtight containers at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. Makes about 5 dozen. Vanilla sugar: 2 cups sugar 3 vanilla beans Place sugar in bowl. With sharp knife, split vanilla beans down middle to expose small black seeds. With back of knife, scrape tiny seeds from each pod and add them to sugar. Chop pods very finely and mix into sugar. Mix sugar mixture with your hands to ensure pods and seeds are evenly distributed. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow to stand overnight. Strain sugar through fine sieve to remove pods (which may be reused). Place sugar in airtight container and store at room temperature. Per serving: 108 calories 6g fat, 10mg cholesterol, 4 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 50%.