Cajun Meatball Fricassee

This is a dish from Louisiana, and it is traditionally served over white rice, but I love it over my favorite, mashed potatoes! Or you can try it with cornmeal & sage dumplings see: https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2019/07/cornmeal-sage-dumplings.html 

Ingredients (about 5 or 6 servings):

For the meatballs:

 

1 pound ground beef

1 pound ground pork

3 slices smoked bacon, finely chopped or ground 

2/3 cup finely chopped onion (white/yellow/red)

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/3 cup fine breadcrumbs

1 egg, beaten

1/3 cup chopped green onions/scallions

2 tablespoons creole seasoning* (or Cajun seasoning)

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons salt (if your creole seasoning has lots of salt, you may not need this)

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

For the fricassee sauce:

 

1/2 cup chopped white/yellow onion

1/3 cup chopped green bell pepper

1 stalk celery, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 1/2 cups beef stock

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup flour 

1 teaspoon Gravy Master/Kitchen Bouquet 

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

3 or 4 chopped green onions for topping

You certainly don't have to do this, but I suggest putting the ground beef, ground pork and the bacon into a processor to get it more finely ground, as it makes the meatballs more tender, but if you choose not to do this, the world won't end because of it. Put the meat into a bowl and add all of the other ingredients for the meatballs to the meat and then mix everything together very well (use your hands). Cover and let the mixture sit for about 20 to 30 minutes (if you have time, make the meatball mixture the day before, cover it and keep it in the refrigerator until you're ready to make the dish the next day). To make the dish: I use a 12 inch skillet, but a dutch oven pot is another good choice, and you will very likely have to brown the meatballs in a couple of batches. If you've had the meatball mixture refrigerated for more than 20 or 30 minutes, let it sit out on your counter for about 10 or 15 minutes first, then form and roll the meatballs in your hands. I make them about golf ball size, but you can make them smaller if you prefer, although I wouldn't make them much larger, as I've found that golf ball size or smaller works well in letting the meatballs cook properly, without having to go through putting them into the oven to cook. Add the oil to the skillet and heat it over medium heat. Add the meatballs and let them brown lightly, turning them to brown them all over. Remove them to a plate or platter, and then brown the rest of the meatballs, then remove them to the plate. The meatballs do not have to be cooked through at this time, just lightly browned, as they will cook further shortly. Add the onion, green pepper and celery to the skillet with the oil used to brown the meatballs. Cook for a couple minutes or so until the vegetables soften a good deal, then add the garlic and saute another minute. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables in the skillet, then mix everything into the oil to form a roux; let cook about 2 to 3 minutes, stirring to prevent sticking or burning (this should remove any uncooked flour taste). Gradually begin to add the beef stock (I add 1 cup at a time, but that isn't gospel), stirring continuously until the sauce begins to thicken, then add more stock and do the same thing until the stock is all incorporated and the sauce thickened into a nice gravy. I generally like thick sauces/gravies, but this isn't supposed to be like concrete for a new sidewalk. Stir in the Gravy Master or Kitchen Bouquet and the chopped parsley. Add the meatballs, turn the heat to low or very low and cover the pot or skillet with a lid or foil. Let cook for about five minutes, uncover and turn the meatballs, cover the pot/skillet again and cook another five minutes, and then do the same thing. Check to make sure the meatballs are done (my experience has been that the meatballs are done and tender after 15 minutes, but you want to check). I use 2 meatballs per serving, topped with chopped green onions.    

* For homemade creole seasoning (and Cajun seasoning too) here is the link: https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2021/09/homemade-cajun-seasoning-creole.html 

 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Throng-This word goes back to Indo European "trenk," which had the notion of "push, press, squeeze together." This gave Old Germanic "þrenkhan" (þ=th), with the same basic meaning. This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "þringan," meaning, "to press, to press through, to press on, to squeeze together," this produced the noun "geþrang" (=gethrang), meaning "a crowd, a throng, the loud noise made by a large gathering of people," and it then became "thrang," before "throng." German has "Gedränge," meaning, "throng, crowd, hustle and bustle, pushing and shoving," German also has "Drang," meaning, "drive;" that is, "something that makes a person or people go on;" thus also, "an urge, an impetus, a motivation," and the same is true of Dutch "drang," and Dutch also has "gedrang," "a crowd, a throng, a crush of people." Icelandic has "mannþröng," meaning "crowd, throng." The original English verb "throng" seems to have been derived from the Old English verb "þringan," and it simply meant "to press, to squeeze together, to crush," but by the 1500s it had picked up the meaning from the noun that has remained into modern times: "to move along as a crowd, to amass at a particular place or event." Not sure about the usage for the verb in England and in Britain, in general, but the verb is pretty rare in American English.   

Shrimp Creole

Louisiana Creole food is a mixture of cooking from the people of various backgrounds who settled in Louisiana and who grew together to become an identity in their own right, with foods being part of that  combination of cultures. These people were of French, Spanish, African, American Indian (Native American), German and Anglo-American heritage. The history of Louisiana is rather complex, but generally, the 1500s saw the Spanish explore the territory, but it was in the 1680s that the territory was claimed for France and when it received the name "Louisiana" (French: 'La Louisiane') to honor King Louis XIV, the then king of France. The territory was not really the same as the modern state of Louisiana, but included areas well beyond that. French settlers came, and not long thereafter, German settlers came, but events of the European countries had an impact on the territory, as Spain gained control of part of the territory (including New Orleans) by agreement with France in the 1760s. Britain gained control of much of the French territory east of the Mississippi River as part of the settlement of the "Seven Years' War" in 1763, with the North American part of that war known as the "French and Indian War." The British expelled thousands of French settlers from eastern Canada, then known as "Acadia" (now basically 'Nova Scotia') following the war, and they often went to Louisiana, where they became known as "Cajuns" (a pronunciation of 'Acadians,' and some seem to have also spelled it 'Cajian/Cagian'), and Spanish settlers also came to the area. Slavery brought many Africans to Louisiana, as did immigration from the French part of Haiti. Napoleon made a swap of territories with Spain, bringing Louisiana back to French control in exchange for French controlled territories in Italy going to Spanish control. Napoleon intended to revitalize French colonial holdings in North America, but when that didn't materialize, he sold "the Louisiana territory" to the United States in 1803.

 

This dish is well known in Louisiana, especially in New Orleans. The list of ingredients is pretty long, but these are generally common ingredients, with nothing terribly hard to find, and the dish isn't at all complicated. This is my own version. Serve with rice and salad... NOTE: The dish is also made by some with crayfish (some say 'crawfish'), but they are not always easy to find elsewhere.

 

Ingredients (4 to 6 servings):

 

1 to 1 1/2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 bell pepper, stem removed, seeded and finely chopped

1/3 cup finely chopped onion

1 large stalk of celery, finely chopped (or 2 medium stalks)

1 jalapeño chili (about 2 1/2 to 3 inches), chopped

5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped or minced

1 heaping teaspoon sweet paprika

1 heaping teaspoon smoked Spanish sweet paprika

1 tablespoon thyme

1 heaping teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 large bay leaf

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 can (14.5 to 15 ounce) tomato sauce

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 cup mild chicken broth

2 teaspoons lemon juice 

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt (more to taste)

2 tablespoons butter + 2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons chopped parsley 

2 or 3 chopped green onions (scallions), including green, for garnish

lemon wedges for serving

 

In a 10 to 12 inch skillet, add the oil and the butter over medium heat, until the butter melts. Add the onion and saute for about a minute, then add the green pepper, celery and jalapeño; saute until softened, about 4 minutes. Stir in the minced garlic and saute a further minute, stirring the whole time. Stir in the sweet paprika, Spanish smoked paprika, thyme, oregano, cayenne pepper, ground black pepper, chicken broth and bay leaf. Bring the broth to a boil for 1 to 2 minutes, then add the tomato sauce and Worcestershire sauce and let come to a simmer, adjusting the heat to maintain a steady gentle simmer until the sauce is reduced to a fairly thick consistency. Stir in the lemon juice and salt, then add the shrimp, and cook until they turn pink, turn off the heat and stir in the chopped parsley. Serve over a bed of rice for each serving and top with some chopped green onions/scallions (which I forgot to add for the photos below ... 30 lashes with a wet noodle!). Add a lemon wedge or two to each plate. 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Fertile-This word is distantly related to "bear," the verb meaning, "to carry, to carry or transport a burden;" thus also, "to be pregnant;" thus also, "to produce," and it is also distantly related to "burden," and these words are from the Germanic roots of English; it is more closely related to "infer," a Latin-derived word borrowed by English from Latin, and to "defer" and "differ," Latin-derived words borrowed from French, but with Latin reinforcement and influence, or perhaps the other way around.

"Fertile" goes back to Indo European "bher," with the notion, "to carry, to tote or bear a burden." The "bh" was rendered as "f" in Italic and it's Latin offspring, giving Latin "ferre," with the same basic meaning. This then produced the Latin adjective "fertilis," meaning, "produced in large quantity;" thus, "fruitful, productive." This passed to Latin-based Old French as "fertil/fertile," and English borrowed it in the middle of the 1400s, as both "fertil" and "fertile," with the latter winning out, although the apparent pronunciation of the other form is still used by some, but whether that is a remnant of the old form is doubtful.