Does anyone have a recipe for milk based seafood gumbo?
30 years ago I lived in Houston and there was club there called the Men’s Club. I ate there at lunch every Friday because they served a gumbo made with white sauce instead of the Cajun roux base. I loved it. Does anyone have a clue as to how I can get that or another white sauce based seafood gumbo? I think today the place in Houston called the Men’s Club is a strip joint. It wasn’t when I was there.
Seafood Gumbo
This gumbo uses a very small amount of roux, so that it remains light. You may omit the okra if you like, and thicken the gumbo with filé powder instead — it’ll still be good, but will have a quite different flavor.
Ingredients
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup flour
2 medium onions, diced
2 green bell peppers, diced
3 ribs celery, finely diced
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
4 tomatoes (or 8 Roma tomatoes), seeded and diced (if you like tomatoes in your gumbo)
1 cup tomato purée (see above)
2 pounds okra, chopped
4 quarts shrimp stock, crab stock or fish stock
1 tablespoon Creole seasoning blend
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
2 bay leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 dozen oysters, freshly shucked, liquor reserved
4 blue crabs, cleaned (optional)
1 pound fresh lump crabmeat, picked over for shells and cartilage
1 tablespoon filé powder (if okra isn’t used)
8 cups cooked long-grain white rice
Method
In a large, heavy pot, heat the oil and add the flour. Stir constantly until a light brown roux is formed, then add the onions, bell pepper, celery and garlic. Sauté until the onions become translucent and the vegetables are tender. Add the tomatoes and tomato purée, if you wish, and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes. (I know I sound like a broken record, but I’m not one of those people who likes tomatoes in my gumbo, but lots of people do. Your mileage may vary.)
Add the seasonings, and about 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper, and continue to cook another 10 minutes. Add the okra, and cook for another 10 minutes, then add the stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer and cook another 30 minutes.
(If you wish a more rustic gumbo, you may add whole blue crabs. Remove the hard top shell from the crabs (reserving for stuffed crabs or for shellfish stock), and break each crab in two down the middle. Remove the claws. Add to the stock.) With the gumbo on very low heat, add the shrimp 10 minutes before serving, the oysters and oyster liquor 5 minutes before serving, and the crabmeat just before serving (don’t cook the crabmeat, just stir until it is heated through). Taste and correct seasonings.
If you don’t like okra, or if you just prefer to make a filé gumbo, remove from heat and sprinkle the filé powder on the surface of the gumbo, then cover and let stand for 15 minutes. Then uncover and stir to mix. Be careful if there are leftovers — filé doesn’t reheat all that well, and you must be careful to reheat gently. If the gumbo comes back to a boil after the filé has been added, it will get stringy.
Place about 1/2 to 2/3 cup of rice in each bowl and ladle the gumbo over and around it. Serve with plenty of french bread and good beer or white wine.
YIELD: About 10-12 entrée servings or 20-24 appetizer servings (omit hard shell crabs if serving cups of gumbo as an appetizer).
No OkraI need a great recipe for seafood gumbo?
I love seafood gumbo but do not know how to prepare it. If anybody can help me with a great cajun recipe for seafood gumbo it would be greatly appreciated!!
Here is one i made during the lsu osu nat. champ game last year.
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup flour
2 medium onions, diced
2 green bell peppers, diced
3 ribs celery, finely diced
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
4 tomatoes (or 8 Roma tomatoes), seeded and diced (if you like tomatoes in your gumbo)
1 cup tomato purée (see above)
2 pounds okra, chopped
4 quarts shrimp stock, crab stock or fish stock
1 tablespoon Creole seasoning blend
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
2 bay leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 dozen oysters, freshly shucked, liquor reserved
4 blue crabs, cleaned (optional)
1 pound fresh lump crabmeat, picked over for shells and cartilage
1 tablespoon filé powder (if okra isn’t used)
8 cups cooked long-grain white rice
In a large, heavy pot, heat the oil and add the flour. Stir constantly until a light brown roux is formed, then add the onions, bell pepper, celery and garlic. Sauté until the onions become translucent and the vegetables are tender. Add the tomatoes and tomato purée, if you wish, and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes. (I know I sound like a broken record, but I’m not one of those people who likes tomatoes in my gumbo, but lots of people do. Your mileage may vary.)
Add the seasonings, and about 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper, and continue to cook another 10 minutes. Add the okra, and cook for another 10 minutes, then add the stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer and cook another 30 minutes.
(If you wish a more rustic gumbo, you may add whole blue crabs. Remove the hard top shell from the crabs (reserving for stuffed crabs or for shellfish stock), and break each crab in two down the middle. Remove the claws. Add to the stock.) With the gumbo on very low heat, add the shrimp 10 minutes before serving, the oysters and oyster liquor 5 minutes before serving, and the crabmeat just before serving (don’t cook the crabmeat, just stir until it is heated through). Taste and correct seasonings.
If you don’t like okra, or if you just prefer to make a filé gumbo, remove from heat and sprinkle the filé powder on the surface of the gumbo, then cover and let stand for 15 minutes. Then uncover and stir to mix. Be careful if there are leftovers — filé doesn’t reheat all that well, and you must be careful to reheat gently. If the gumbo comes back to a boil after the filé has been added, it will get stringy.
Place about 1/2 to 2/3 cup of rice in each bowl and ladle the gumbo over and around it. Serve with plenty of french bread and good beer or white wine.
What is your local cuisine? The style of cooking indigenous to your area where you are living…?
I am blessed and fortunate enough to live on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and so creole/cajun Southern style cookery is what we do here…we are 90 miles from New Orleans and a lot of our restaurant owners were trained in New Orleans…
Used to be just southern fried and cooked to death. Now we have the local Mexican flavor, not Tex-Mex. Just about everyone here grows a garden every spring. There is nothing to compare with a juicy homegrown, vine ripened tomato. We eat lots of purple hull peas, okra, potatoes, fish, watermelon, corn on the cob, squash and of course it is all cooked to death. I guess that’s just southern cooking.
Dirty rice is one of my favorites.
How common is Vegeterianism among the ”Creole” societies of the Indian Ocean?
Are vegetarian dishes offered only in addition to most recipes of the region, or is there any evidence to suggest that the diet is popular or even dominant in any sections of the community? Or, given the dependence on many of the islands upon fishing, are there many people who eat fsh but no other meat? Is it possible to avoid meat in the cooking of this region easilly?
Being a former chef and having worked in both Southeast Asia and in the Carribean, creole is more attributed to the islands in the Gulf of Mexico and stemming from the Africa influence during the slave trade, it came from the east coast of Africa, Ghana, Congo and along that coastal area.
It rose out of the use of the native ingredients they brought from Africa and th available produce in the isalnds of the Carribean. The East Indian area has little to do with Creole food or cuisine except the Okra plant did come from India.
Cajun cooking, can you please help me.?
I’m making Gumbo it call for lemon juice I put a little to much in it how can I fix that?
The recipe also has brown sugar , can I add a little more brown sugar to balance it out or is there something else I can do to fix that?
thanks.
Maybe just add more meat and okra, too little or too much lemon shouldn’t be a problem…
Do you have a favorite Cajun food? Did you ‘grow up’ with it, or did you ‘acquire’ the taste?
I tasted something once that
was so delicious, it had a
haunting flavor.
It was soooo good!
Since then the restaurant
closed, and I have forgotten
the name of the dish.
It was served on rice,
and had shrimp and sausage in it.
It was the spices that were so great!
A comfortable warm cozy sort of taste.
It’s called gumbo. It’s fairly easy to make. The main spice in gumbo is bay leaves and file’ (feel a). It has a brown roux, okra, onions and celery. It can be made with any seafood. I make mine with shrimp, oysters and crab meat.
Or you could have had shrimp creole, which is also served over rice. It has more of a tomato base along with the bay leaves.
Yes, I grew up with it. Along the Gulf Coast, it’s pretty easy to find but some restuarants put fish in their gumbo, I don’t care for the fishy taste.
Cajun & Creole?
What’s the difference between Cajun and Creole cooking?
Creole cooking has a lot of Carribean and Jamican influences. Tomatoes and okra are used lot, along with peppers and spices. Cajun cooking is very rustic, using ingredients found on the land, with some French influences. Alot of recipes are roux based. Both styles are found in Louisiana, and some recipes incorporate bits from both. Creole cooking in Louisiana is found mostly in New Orleans.
does anyone know how to cook real cajun food?
i am looking for the best recipe for a real cajun dish with seafood!
CAJUN GRILLED RED SNAPPER
Makes: 4 Servings
Source: The New Family Cookbook for People with Diabetes
INGREDIENTS
- 4 red snapper, perch, or other firm,
white fish fillets (1 pound total)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning blend
or blackened fish seasoning blend
- 1 small lemon, cut into wedges
DIRECTIONS
Heat a large heavy skillet over high heat.
Brush the fish with oil. Press the seasoning
blend into both sides of the fish.
Spray the hot skillet with non-stick pan spray.
Add the fish and pan-fry over high heat about 4 minutes
per side, or until the fish is firm and the surface is
crusty. Serve with lemon wedges.
cajun seafood pasta
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon chopped fresh
basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh
thyme
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons ground black
pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red
pepper flakes
1 teaspoon ground white
pepper
1 cup chopped green onions
1 cup chopped parsley
1/2 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 pound scallops
1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 pound dry fettuccine pasta
DIRECTIONS:
1. Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente.
2. Meanwhile, pour cream into large skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until just about boiling. Reduce heat, and add herbs, salt, peppers, onions, and parsley. Simmer 7 to 8 minutes, or until thickened.
3. Stir in seafood, cooking until shrimp is no longer transparent. Stir in cheeses, blending well.
4. Drain pasta. Serve sauce over noodles.
Microwave Cajun Baked Fish
Be careful not to overcook fish, as it will become very
tough. Meat, poultry, vegetables and fruit cook in
approximately 6 minutes per pound, but fish and seafood
take only 3-4 minutes per pound. Orange roughy or other
mild white fish are good substitutes for the catfish in this
dish.
1 lb. catfish filets
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup crushed cracker
Mix mayonnaise and spices. Coat fish on both sides with mayonnaise mixture and roll in cracker crumbs. Arrange fish on microwave rack or in casserole, thickest portions to the outside.Microwave on High power (100%) for 3-4 minutes. Let stand a few seconds and check for doneness. Fish will flake easily when done.
Cajun Shrimp And Oyster Gumbo~~
Yield: 6 Servings
2 c Stock (recipe below)
3 tb Oil
1/4 c Flour
1/2 c Chopped onion
1 ts Minced garlic
3/4 c Chopped green bell pepper
1/4 c Chopped parsley
1/4 ts Salt
1/2 ts Dried thyme
1/4 ts Cayenne pepper
1/4 ts Hot pepper sauce
16 oz Can tomatoes with juices
10 oz Frozen okra,thaw,cut across
1 lb Medium shrimp,clean,devein
1 pt Shucked oysters
3 c Hot cooked rice
To make roux: Combine flour and oil in a large heavy
pan or Dutch oven.
Cook and stir over medium high heat until roux
turns a dark,rich red brown color but is not scorched,
15 to 20 minutes.
Stir in onion and garlic; cook and stir until soft.
Add green pepper, parsley,salt,thyme,cayenne pepper and pepper
sauce.Cook and stir 5 minutes longer.
Gradually,whisk in about 2 cups warm stock and
tomatoes.Return to a boil and simmer 20
minutes,stirring occasionally.Add okra;simmer just until okra is
tender,about 5 minutes.Add shrimp and oysters.Simmer just until edges
of oysters curl and shrimp is pink and opaque,5 to 8 minutes.Do
not overcook seafood.Remove from heat.To serve,mound hot rice in
soup plates and ladle gumbo over the top.
Stock: In a large stock pot,combine 2 quarts water,2
slices lemon,2 dried red chilies,1/4 teaspoon salt,1 bay leaf,1/2
teaspoon dried thyme,shrimp shells and oyster liquor.Bring to a
boil.Cook at a low boil,uncovered,until mixture is reduced to about 3
cups,about 25 to 30 minutes.Strain and discard seasonings and shrimp
shells.
Cajun Seafood And Noodles
Recipe By :
Serving Size : 6 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Low-Cal Main Dish
Pasta Seafood Mixture
Amount Measure Ingredient — Preparation Method
——– ———— ——————————–
6 ounces Uncooked medium noodles — (about 3 cups)
1 tablespoon Vegetable oil
3/4 cup Chopped green bell pepper — (about 1 medium)
1/2 cup Chopped onion — (about 1 medium)
2 tablespoons Chopped fresh parsley
1/8 teaspoon Ground red pepper — (cayenne)
1/8 teaspoon Black pepper
2 Garlic cloves — finely chopped
1 tablespoon All-purpose flour
16 ounces Whole tomatoes – (1 can) — undrained
10 ounces Frozen cut okra – (1 pkg) — thawed
6 ounces Frozen cooked small shrimp – (1 pkg) –
thawed
– and drained
6 ounces Frozen crabmeat – (1 pkg) — thawed,
drained, and
– cartilage removed
Cook noodles as directed on package; drain. Heat oil in 10-inch
nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook bell pepper, onion,
parsley, red pepper, black pepper, and garlic 3 minutes, stirring
frequently. Stir in flour and tomatoes; break up tomatoes.
Cook uncovered, stirring frequently, until mixture thickens and
boils. Stir in okra, shrimp, and crabmeat. Cook uncovered 5
minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve over noodles. This recipe
serves six — 2/3 cup seafood and 1/2 cup noodles each.
Fiery Cajun Shrimp
Recipe By 
aula Deen
Serving Size : 8 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Seafood Shellfish
Amount Measure Ingredient — Preparation Method
——– ———— ——————————–
2 cups melted butter – (4 sticks)
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons ground pepper
2 tablespoons hot sauce
= (Texas Pete recommended)
4 garlic cloves — minced
2 teaspoons salt
5 pounds unpeeled medium shrimp
2 lemons — thinly sliced
French bread — for dipping
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Stir together the butter, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, pepper,
hot sauce, garlic, and salt. Pour half this mixture into a large
heatproof dish. Layer half the shrimp and half the lemon slices in
the dish; then form a second layer with the remaining shrimp and
lemon slices, and pour remaining sauce into the dish. Bake,
uncovered, for 20 minutes, or until the shrimp are pink, stirring
twice.
Pour off the sauce into individual serving dishes. Serve the shrimp
with plenty of French bread for dipping in the spicy butter sauce.
This recipe yields 8 servings.