There is a little diner right up the road in my very small town of Mandeville, Louisiana, called Creole Tomateaux. (Creole Tomateaux on Google Maps) As the name suggests, they serve authentic Creole and Cajun cuisine. Louisiana Creole cuisine is a combo of French, Spanish, African, Italian, Native American, and German influences. Cajun cuisine comes from the french speaking Acadiana region of Louisiana.
Their name is also unique in its spelling. Many cajun names in in “eaux”. For instance Boudreaux, Thibodeaux, Breaux, Arceneaux, Babineaux, and Robicheaux. In fact Louisiana has adopted the “eaux” as a fun way to spell words with the “long O” sound. For instance “Geaux Saints," and " Geaux Tigers!" for our sports teams. And for this restaurant Creole Tomateaux!
On this day I ate two very popular Louisiana dishes, a cup of chicken and sausage gumbo and a side of jambalaya. Gumbo is sort of a stew. It can be made with a variety of seafood , like crab, or with chicken and sausage. It is mildly spicy, and usually has a little white rice in the bottom of the cup. It is thickened by either using file, made from dried sassafras root, or okra, or by creating a roux. A roux is the basis of much Louisianan cooking. There are many recipes for a roux, but most begin with mixing butter and flour. The gumbo at Creole Tomateaux is very good, thick rich, with a lot of sausage, but I like it hot and spicy! So, I add another Louisiana staple, cayenne hot sauce! My favorite is Crystal Pure Hot sauce. Crystal has been making hot sauce on Tchoupitoulas ( pronounced chop-a too-las) Street in New Orleans since 1923. However, like almost everything else, Katrina destroyed their factory. They were able to rebuild, and reopened in Reserve, Louisiana raising the same iconic sign, I remember as a child.
The cup of jambalaya was also good. There are many different types of jambalaya, but they basically fall under red, or brown. Most people love either one or the other! Red has a tomato base, and is a Creole Jambalaya. The brown type has no tomatoes and is a Cajun Jambalaya. Both types use Trinity (celery, bell peppers, and onions), and rice, cooked with meat. The meat can vary from shrimp to chicken or pork,but usually always has sausage, most commonly Andouille sausage.
I hope you enjoyed a little Louisiana Creole and Cajun food exploration, with Gumbo and Jambalaya. Many people say, (and of course I am one of them!) that Louisiana has the best food in the entire world! Do you have dishes similar to Creole and Cajun cuisine in your area? I would love to hear about them in the comments below.