Creole Recipe Collection
Shrimp Creole Recipe: Add Tomato Sauce for Shrimp Creole
More on the recipes, ingredients and cuisine of Creole food!
Creole food is a form of cooking that is said to have originated from Louisiana. Basically, this is a melting pot cuisine and blends recipes and foods from a number of countries- India, Mediterranean countries, France, Spain and Africa, to name a few. Creole food is also said to have a profound British, Italian, German and Greek influences. Usually, Creole food is compared with the Cajun style of cooking, which is also said to have emerged from Louisiana, but these are two entirely different concepts. In this write up, we intend to focus more on the Creole food and would leave the Cajun variation for some other time.
The intense use of peppers, citrus fruits and tomatoes is a hallmark of Spanish and Italian recipes. These ingredients are also used lavishly in Creole recipes- thus accounting for the Spanish and the Italian influence. Besides, the use of Pasta and tomato sauces in some creole recipes further highlights the European (primarily Italian) influence. The main reason for such a conglomeration in Creole cuisine is attributed to the fact that many peasants, workers, servants and cooks that had come along with the rich and the well-to-do into New-Orleans were India-Asian, African American of European in nature. When these cooks got a chance to play with the local ingredients of New Orleans, they cooked up some of the most extravagant and mouth watering recipes of all time and all these recipes have now come under the head of Creole food. With time, Creole food has laid special emphasis on the use of fresh vegetables in the recipes and fresh vegetables and fruits therefore, are abundantly seen in modern Creole food.
From appetizers to desserts and main course meals, there is a creole recipe for every occasion. There is a recipe in creole cuisine to taste and soothe every taste bud of yours, and this is what sets Creole food apart from the rest. Oysters and shrimps are an integral part of Creole cuisine. Oyster Rockefeller and Shrimp Remoulade are two popular breakfast recipes based on shrimps and oysters. Besides, Turtle soup, crawfish soup and oyster and artichoke bisque are some of the popular soups that are a part of the traditional Creole food. King cake (usually made during Christmas- consists of hoards of ingredients like breads, buns, syrups, fresh fruits etc) and Pecan pie (a mouth watering recipe made out of browney, chocolate sauce and whiskey) are two of my personal favorites when it comes to picking the best desserts from Creole food. Besides, the French Toast and Egg Sardou are also said to have been invented by the French after settling at New Orleans, and thus, these two recipes are also a part of the Creole cuisine.
What most visitors don’t get to experience is the
wonderful home cookin’ of New Orleans. It was in
the home kitchens that the French, Spanish, African,
and Indian influences all blended together to give birth
to Creole cooking. The étouffées and gumbos and
bread puddings you may have enjoyed at a particular
New Orleans eatery more than likely had their origins
in home kitchens. They were usually created out of
necessity by using whatever was plentiful at the market,
available from the vegetable wagon, or left in the
cupboard. Whether it was ripe bananas, leftover rice,
stale bread…these home cooks found a way to put
foods together deliciously!
I have coupled the recipes and stories of my many
New Orleans ancestors with my own research to bring
you these authentic and tradiontal Creole recipes,
making them as easy to prepare and up-to-date as
I can, so that you will not be afraid to incor-
porate them into your everyday cooking. I cannot
resist giving my own personal tidbits — and I
take that author’s privilege to embellish, take
out a few calories, simplify, or whatever it takes to
encourage you to try them.
Working on this site has been one of the most
enjoyable projects I have ever undertaken. I would
literally lose all track of time going back to the many
cherished moments in my life that have revolved
around the enjoyment of good food. I wish to thank
my mother for recollecting her recipes (and delightful
stories that go with them); and Valerie for sharing her
intuitive methods with Creole cooking; and Thomas
and Jean and Janice for all their help and patience
throughout the making of this site.
I truly believe the best eating in the world can be
found in New Orleans. My hope is that some of the
heritage and enthusiasm and enjoyment that have long
been embroidered through this wonderful Creole cuisine
will spill out of these pages into your own kitchen.
The taste of the Crescent City is right here in your
hands. I warmly extend my invitation in that charm-
ingly unique New Orleans dialect…
“Welcome to Dahlishous N’Awlins, Dawlin!”
