Celebrate Mardi Gras with Herndon Farmer’s Market

13:03 05 March in News by nancy

Welcome to New Orleans and bon appetit!

Join host Tooran Shadmand as she learns about the culture and cuisine of the bayou on our special Mardi Gras episode of Herndon Farmers Market! Guest chef Keven LeBlanc takes us on a tour through the flavors of his native Cajun country, including shrimp etouffee, black beans and rice, and a Bourbon-street inspired beverage.

So grab your beads, put on some brassy jazz music and get ready to dig in. Let the good times roll!

Shrimp Etouffee

4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
1 can cream of mushroom and roasted garlic
1 pound shrimp shelled and deveined
1/2 lemon sliced
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup onion diced
1/2cup celery diced
1/2 cup red bell pepper diced
6 cloves garlic chopped
2 teaspoon fresh thyme chopped
14 ounce can diced tomato
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp cayenne
1 tsp ancho pepper
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp French four spice (white pepper, nutmeg, ginger and clove in equal mix)
hot sauce to taste
sea salt to taste
1/4cup green onions sliced for garnish
tablespoon Italian parsley chopped for garnish

BROTH

Add the shrimp shells and scraps of onion and celery to a small sauce pot with a little olive oil to saute and cook for a few minutes
then add the sliced lemon and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes
Strain the solids from the broth and set aside.

ETOUFFEE

Melt the butter in a large sauce pan over medium heat, cook until it starts to brown sprinkle in the flour while mixing and simmer until it turns a dark brown, about 10-15 minutes.
Add the onion, celery and peppers to the roux and cook until tender, about 8-10 minutes.
Add the garlic and thyme and cook for a minute.
Whisk in the broth and cream of mushroom soup
add the tomatoes and seasoning reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
Season with hot sauce and sea salt and black pepper to taste.

SHRIMP

mix the spices (or paprika if you don’t want heat) with your towel dried shrimp
get a saute pan hot , add a little oil to the pan and add the shrimp
Saute the shrimp quickly and cook until just done so they stay moist and tender. You want to get color into the shrimp so its okay if they seasoning burns a little.
Add shrimp to the etouffee and simmer for an addition minute

Place white rice in center of bowl, add Etouffee around rice, place cooked shrimp on top. Garnish with parsley and green onions

Red Beans and Rice

1 pound (450g) red kidney beans

Kosher salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil or lard
1 pound cooked andouille sausage, cut into 1/2-inch disks (optional in beans or serve on side)
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped
4 ribs celery, finely chopped
10 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp cayenne
2 tbsp smoked paprika
2 tbsp ancho pepper
1 tbsp ground sage
3 tbsp ground black pepper
1 smoked ham hock (optional)
4 sprigs fresh thyme
3 bay leaves
Hot sauce, such as Tabasco
Cooked white rice, for serving

Place beans in a large bowl and cover with 6 cups (1.5L) cold water. Add 2 tablespoons (30g) kosher salt and stir until dissolved. Set aside at room temperature for 8 to 16 hours. Drain and rinse.

In a large Dutch oven, heat oil or lard over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add andouille (if using) and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add onion, bell pepper, and celery. Season with salt and cook, stirring, until vegetables have softened and are just starting to brown around the edges, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 45 seconds. Add rest of seasonings and sage. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add beans, along with enough water (or broth) to cover by about 2 inches (roughly 6 to 8 cups), ham hock (if using), thyme, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil and reduce to a bare simmer. Cover and cook until beans are completely tender, 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours. (Older beans can take longer.)

Remove lid and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid has thickened and turned creamy, about 20 minutes. If the pot starts to look dry before the stew turns creamy, add a cup of water and continue simmering. Repeat as necessary until desired level of creaminess is achieved. Discard bay leaves and thyme stems. Season to taste with hot sauce, and more salt and pepper. For best texture, let cool and refrigerate overnight. Reheat the next day, adding a little water to loosen to desired consistency. Serve red beans over steamed white rice.

Bread Pudding

2 cups granulated sugar

4 large beaten eggs

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup half and half

3 tsp vanilla extract

3 cups stale French bread, torn into bite size pieces

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/2 stick butter melted

1 tsp salt

3 tbsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13x9x2 in pan. In a bowl mix sugars, butter salt, cinnamon. In another bowl mix together eggs, dairy and vanilla. Combine milk and sugar mixtures until sugar dissolved. Pour over bread and let sit 10 minutes for it to soak in. Pour bread into pan and bake for 35-45 mins until set. Remove from oven.

Bananas Foster Sauce for Bread Pudding

For 2 servings

1 banana sliced into 1/2 inch coins

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp butter

Juice of half lemon

1/4 cup pecans

Melt butter in small sauce pan over medium low heat. Add brown sugar and lemon juice and stir until sugar melts. Add banana and pecans and simmer for 2 minutes. You can optionally add 2 tbsp bourbon. Serve over pieces of bread pudding.