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Tag Archives: Cajun

Louisiana Chicken Pasta

Chicken, Mains, Non vegetarian, Pasta October 28, 2014 Comments: 6

I got introduced to pastas very late in life, somewhere in my late-20s but when I did, I was hooked for life.

At that time, the pasta dishes used to be quite rudimentary in the Indian culinary scene. Apart from a handful of five star speciality restaurants, most places sold either pasta in white sauce or red tomato sauce. While it was comforting, there wasn’t much variety to choose from.

I learnt my first basic white sauce recipe from a colleague and I still remember vividly the thrill it gave me when I had mastered it at home. After that, pastas became a pretty common feature in our household especially after my little one was born. Children love pasta, don’t they!

But once I started making pasta dishes at home, I wanted to venture out beyond these two sauces. I started reading and researching more on Italian cuisine and it was a surprise to discover the sheer variety of pasta dishes available.

The real experimentation with pasta recipes happened after arriving in Australia especially with the abundance of ingredients and produce here. I have learnt many classic ones and also experimented and created some wacky ones; you can find it all here.

Today’s pasta dish, Louisiana chicken pasta, is not my creation but one I found on a fellow blogger’s site. Apparently, this is an Americanized version made famous by The Cheesecake Factory. What instantly captured my attention was the versatility of this recipe. You can use the Cajun sauce and come up with other pasta recipes of your own or you can use the fried chicken in many other ways; as a starter, in subs etc….

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Louisiana chicken pasta incorporates all the flavours we enjoy as a family – creamy, luscious, rich sauce with the aroma and flavours of the Cajun seasoning wafting through tossed through perfectly cooked penne and topped with succulent, fried Cajun spiced chicken pieces. And yes, a generous grating of Parmesan to transport you to culinary heaven.

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And before we head over to the recipe, I want to share with all of you that I have been nominated for the Indian Food Blogger Awards under the General Food Blog Category. To proceed to the next step, I need to garner as much as votes as possible. So if you think I deserve this chance, then please visit this page, to vote for me (check my blog name under General food blog category). Thank you.

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Recipe Courtesy – Savory and Sweet Food


Ingredients:

1. Cajun Sauce

• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 small bell pepper, chopped ( you can mix red green and yellow)
• ½ small onion, chopped
• 3 whole garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 ½ cups heavy cream
• 1 ½ tsp Cajun spice or Creole seasoning
• ½ cup low sodium chicken broth
2. 2 Tbsp fresh basil or parsley
3. ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
4. Salt, to season
5. freshly ground black pepper, to season
6. 250g Fusili
7. Chilli flakes (optional), for garnish
8. Chicken

• 300 gm or 2 boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into big cubes
• 1 ½ tsp Cajun spice
• ¾ cup breadcrumbs
• 1 Tbsp flour
• ½ cup parmesan cheese (grated)
• ½ cup milk
• 4 Tbsp vegetable oil

Method:

For Cajun Sauce:

• Melt butter and olive oil in large pan over medium heat.
• Add the peppers, and onion to same pan, until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes.
• Add garlic and crushed red pepper to pan and sauté 3 minutes.
• Add cream and chicken stock and mix in the Cajun spice blend.
• Simmer until sauce thickens slightly, about 5 minutes.
• Add basil and Parmesan cheese to sauce, stirring to incorporate.
• Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low, and simmer till the sauce thickens.


For the chicken:

• Marinate chicken pieces with Cajun seasoning and leave for 30 minutes.
• Mix breadcrumbs, flour, and Parmesan cheese together.
• Place milk in dish for dipping.
• Dip chicken in breadcrumb mixture and then in milk and then back in breadcrumbs.
• Heat oil in a pan, fry the chicken pieces till golden brown and keep aside.


For the final dish:

• Cook the fusili in large pot of boiling salted water and drain.
• Add sauce and toss to coat.
• Place pasta with sauce on plate, sprinkle chilli flakes and top with chicken breast.
• Serve hot and tuck in!

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Cajun Rice (with Purple Asparagus and Mushrooms)

Rice, Vegetarian January 14, 2014 Comments: 7

After coming to Melbourne, my culinary world has opened up to so many new ingredients – some of which I did not even know existed in this world. And one among those is the purple asparagus! I have had green asparagus before and have always enjoyed the crunchy texture of these stalks. So when I came across these purple ones at the local farmer’s market, I knew I had to try and make something interesting with it.

I have always had asparagus as an accompaniment, roasted or blanched, with meats. I went ahead and did a rice dish, chopping these beautiful asparagus along with some brown mushrooms and seasoned with hot Cajun seasoning. The result – a pilaf, pulao or fried rice; name it what you want.

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This one is a simple and easy to make rice dish, perfect for weekday dinners. Add a cucumber raita/yoghurt dip and you are good to go!

Now, let’s get cooking….

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Ingredients:

1. Long-grained rice – 2 cups, soaked and drained
2. White onion – 1 large, chopped
3. Purple asparagus (remove the bottom ends) – 4 stalks, chopped
4. Brown mushrooms – 4 large, chopped
5. Garlic – 2 cloves, chopped finely
6. Coriander leaves – ½ cup, finely chopped
7. Cajun seasoning – 2 tsp (add more to suit your taste preferences)
8. Salt – to season
9. Black pepper – to season
10. Vegetable oil – 3 tbsp.

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Method:

• Cook the rice in salted boiling water, drain well and keep aside.
• Heat oil in a pan, add garlic and onions; sauté for a minute.
• Then add the mushrooms and asparagus and sauté for another 2 minutes on high heat.
• Lower heat and season with Cajun seasoning, salt and pepper. Remember that the rice has been cooked in salted water so add salt accordingly.
• Add coriander leaves and stir well.
• Add the rice and mix well to combine.
• Serve with chilled cucumber raita/yoghurt dip.

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What is your favourite rice dish?

Grilled Cajun Chicken…served with tangy Indian sauce, oven roasted baby tomatoes and fresh green salad

Chicken, Mains, Non vegetarian December 12, 2013 Comments: 2

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This dish is a complete experiment – the result of a random food thought that originated while I was tossing and turning trying to catch some sleep. Now, I do have food dreams especially since I have started blogging and there are times when an idea would suddenly pop up and I frantically search for my mobile trying to jot it down for future experimentation.

Every time I visit the local farmer’s market or any supermarket for that fact, the first aisle I want to visit is the spices and condiments section. I love learning about new spices, buying it and then experimenting with these trying to come up with unique spice blends and thereby new dishes. Very rarely do I buy commercial spice blends – I love the process of making these at home itself.

On one such trip to the spice aisle, I came across the Cajun seasoning which is quite a commonly used spice blend in Australia. The main ingredients of this blend are paprika, fennel, garlic, chilli, pepper etc. which makes it a good marinade/rub for meats and seafood. I bought a bottle and decided to put it to the test with this recipe.

Somewhere along the way, as the recipe took shape, I decided to incorporate some Indian flavours too (and this is proof that Indian flavours can be incorporated and teamed well with international dishes) and hence decided to make an Indian inspired base/sauce.

So, the final dish – grilled chicken breasts with Cajun seasoning served with Indian inspired tomato sauce, oven roasted vine-ripened tomatoes and a fresh green salad. The flavours went well and the dish was a total ripper.

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Ingredients:

For the chicken:

1. Chicken breast, skinless – 2
2. Cajun seasoning (store-bought) – 1-2 tsp
3. Salt – to season
4. Black pepper – to season
5. Lemon juice – 1 tsp

For the tomato sauce:

6. Ripe red tomatoes – 2
7. Ginger – ½ inch piece
8. Lime juice – 1-2 tbsp
9. Olive oil – 5 tbsp
10. Shallots – 3 medium
11. Garlic – 2 cloves, chopped finely
12. Smoked paprika (you may also use kashmiri chilli powder) – 1 tsp
13. Chilli flakes – to season
14. Sugar – ½ tsp
15. Salt – to season
16. Balsamic vinegar – ½ – 1 tsp
17. Coriander leaves – ½ cup, finely chopped
18. Black olives – 4, finely chopped

For the salad:

19. Iceberg lettuce – 1 cup, shredded
20. Lebanese cucumber – 1, sliced finely
21. Red onion – 1, sliced finely
22. Lemon juice
23. Salt – to season

For the tomatoes:

24. Vine-ripened baby tomatoes – 1 bunch
25. Salt – to season
26. Olive oil – 1 tbsp.

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Method:

For the chicken:

• Make a marinade with ingredients 2-5 and marinate the chicken breasts in this for at least one hour.
• Grill the chicken breasts till tender and juicy. Take care not to overcook the chicken as this tends to make the meat rubbery and hard.
• Rest for 15 minutes before serving.

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For the tomato sauce:

• Blend ingredients 6-9 to create a smooth sauce.
• In a pan, sauté shallots and garlic till soft and then add the tomato puree.
• Season with salt, sugar, paprika and chilli flakes, mixing well.
• Then add balsamic vinegar and cook till the sauce is reduced to a nice, creamy and smooth consistency.
• Finish off with coriander leaves and olives.

Note – Make sure to keep tasting to ensure that the flavours are in balance.

For the salad:

• Mix ingredients 19-22 in a bowl and keep aside. Season with salt just before serving.

For the oven-roasted tomatoes:

• Place the tomatoes in a baking tray and season with salt. Drizzle olive oil on top and roast at 200°C for 10 to 15 minutes or till soft.

The final dish:

• On a plate, spoon the tomato sauce generously and place the chicken breast on top. Pour a little of the sauce on top of the breast too.
• Finish off with the oven roasted tomatoes on one side and the fresh, green salad on another.
• Serve with any crusted bread.

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This might seem to be a lengthy recipe but the individual components are simple to prepare and hardly takes up any time at all.

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Cheers, foodies!

Cajun Spiced Sausages

Appetizers, Chicken, Non vegetarian September 8, 2013 Comments: 3

Sausages have always been a family favourite! We love it in all forms – grilled, fried, curried; you name it. During my childhood, the most common way I enjoyed these were as a sausage curry which we used to have with kubbuiz (Arabic bread) or chappathis (Indian flat bread). Or my mum used to shallow fry the sausages, cut into bite-sized pieces and then hand it over to me and my siblings with loads of tomato ketchup. And a fight always ensued as to who gets the last piece.

What I like best about sausages is the fact that these are so versatile and can be enjoyed in several different ways. Though my favourite remains the grilled hot dog, I try and experiment with the different types of sausages that I get here (the variety here overwhelms me each time) and come up with something new each time.

In today’s recipe, I have grilled the sausages and cut it up into bite sized pieces. The sausages were then tossed with Cajun seasoning, a bit of olive oil and chopped coriander leaves. Cajun spiced sausages make a great starter especially with a glass of wine.

Cajun sausages, a delicious party starter - thespiceadventuress.com

 

Ingredients:

(I have used Don’s skinless footy franks for this recipe but you use any type of sausage you wish to)

1. 8 skinless sausages
2. 3 tbsp olive oil
3. 1 – 1 1/2 tbsp Cajun seasoning (available at most supermarkets)
4. 1 tbsp fresh coriander leaves; finely chopped
5. Salt; to season

Lemon wedges; to serve


Method:

• Grill the sausages on a barbecue or stove top grill (or shallow fry if you do not have a grill).
• Remove from heat and cut into small pieces and place in a bowl.
• Add Cajun seasoning, olive oil and fresh coriander leaves.
• Toss well, taste and add salt if necessary.
• Serve with lemon wedges.

Cajun sausages, a delicious party starter - thespiceadventuress.com

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