The perfect food for the Mardi Gras Celebration

Next week it is time to celebrate one of the world's most popular festivals, Mardi Gras – what better excuse to try out some great creole recipes? 

Here is the ultimate guide to the traditional creole Mardi Gras dinner by Mathallen's own Culinary Academy.

Gumbo:

4 chicken drumsticks, split in halves (Stangeriet)
600 g smoked spicy sausage, cut into 1 cm thick slices (Annis Pølsemakeri)
3 tsp creole spice blend, see recipe below
Neutral oil for sautéing

1 dl neutral oil
1 dl white flour

Vegetables (Volcano fruit and vegetables)
6 cloves garlic, nicely chopped
2 large onions, diced
2 green bell peppers, diced
5 stalks celery, diced
2 liters of chicken stock (Stangeriet)
3 bay leaves
2 bouquets of scallions, cut thinly
4 tbsp chopped parsley

Preparation:
The drumsticks are drizzled with spice blend on both sides, then lightly browned in a heated pan with oil. Place the chicken aside. Brown the sausages in the same cooking pan with the oil from the chicken so that it can enjoy some of the spices as well.

Now we are making a «roux», which is a very traditional part of the Creole kitchen. This is a type of thickening, and you prepare it the following way:

Warm oil in a large thick-bottomed pot and add the flour. Stir the mixture, over medium heat, until it is nut brown.

When the roux has the right color add the vegetables and sautee while stirring for about 4-5 minutes. Then start adding a little chicken stock over time, and stir well. Finally add the chicken and sausage and let everything simmer on low heat for about 1 hour. Sprinkle scallions and parsley on top right before serving. Serve the gumbo with rice.

Homemade creole spice blend: (Volcano fruit and vegetables): 3 tbsp ground paprika, 2 tbsp garlic powder, 1 tbsp black pepper, 1 tbsp cayenne, 1,5 tbsp oregano, 1,5 tbsp dried basil, 1 tbsp dried thyme, 1 tbsp salt.

Blend everything well and keep in a closed container.

creole crab cakes:

500 g cab meat, rinsed (Volcano fish)
4-6 tbsp mayonnaise (Volcano fish)
2 egg yolks
3 tsp Dijon mustard (Ma Poule)
1/2 tsp tabasco
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp fresh tarragon, finely chopped (Vulkan fruit and vegetables)
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

3 dl. Breadcrumbs
3 tbsp butter

Preparation:
Let the crabmeat rest in a sieve so that most of the water runs off. The blend mayo, yolks, mustard and the rest of the spices. carefully turn the blend in with the crabmeat and mix well. Make small cakes and dip them in breadcrumbs on both sides before you fry them golden in butter.

Serve with green salad and spicy mayonnaise.

Spicy Mayonnaise:
2 dl Mayonnaise
2 tbsp chili sauce
3 teaspoons creole spice blend, see above
2 tsp mustard
A little bit of lemon juice

Blend everything together and add lemon juice to taste.

Happy Mardi Gras!

If you are hungry for more inspirational recipes from KA, buy the award-winning cookbook "Kok og stek" (note in Norwegian), at KA in Mathallen.