Louisiana is a Southern U.S. state on the Gulf of Mexico., rich in culture and food. Their Creole and Cajun cuisine is heaven for non-veg lovers who want to try everything. In many places, street food is sold on food trucks. They celebrate their food by holding food festivals. The last was held at Baton Rouge, LA on January 19th, 2019. Here are some dishes that are a must-try when you are in this beautiful place next time.
18 Dishes of Louisiana You Have to Try
1. Gumbo
Gumbo tops the list as it is one of the dishes common to both Creole and Cajun cuisine. It’s a stew-like dish that has bacon, sausage, shrimp, crabmeat, a number of vegetables like tomatoes, onions, okra (lady’s finger), and a mix of many, many herbs and spices. Tomatoes particularly are important in almost all Creole dishes but are avoided in Cajun dishes. This dish is a blast of flavors in the mouth.
2. Crawfish boil
A Crawfish boil is actually a type of social event where crawfish is boiled with different vegetables and spices and sometimes topped with different types of sauces.
3. Ribs
Barbeque ribs are something that all non-veg lovers will love here. Especially the pork and beef ribs here are famous with some places serving it with different types of sauces.
4. Brioche
Brioche is a kind of bread, sweet-tasting, that has its roots in France but has found its way to Louisiana. There are plenty of places that serve this dish, especially in New Orleans.
5. Falafel
Louisiana has a great appetite for falafel. It is a vegetarian deep-fried dish from Arab, made mainly from chickpeas., usually served with some kind of dip.
6. Boudin balls
Again a deep-fried dish but with pork (with blood) and rice sausage. It is typically a Cajun dish. The blood is not drained out and that’s what makes it different. It is served with a side dish such as rice dressing, maque choux or bread.
7. Alligator meat
Yes, alligator meat. It is considered to be very good for humans as it has high protein and low fat. Enjoyed across Louisiana, it is something very different you can try if feeling adventurous.
8. Po-Boy
This dish is basically death by meat (which is definitely ironic). This dish is a sandwich. The bread used is baguette-like, which is a typical French bread. It consists of meat (usually) which includes shrimp, crawfish, crab and oyster. The non-sea stuffing usually includes roasted beef.
9. Muffuletta Sandwich
A dish of Italian origin, it has become famous here. It uses round Sicilian sesame bread and has a thick layer of olive salad, ham, salami, mortadella and different types of cheese. You can never have enough of it.
10. King cake
It is related to the festival of Christmas. A big round doughnut-shaped pastry is baked with cinnamon or vanilla filling, topped with colourful frosting. As it is related to Christmas, a small plastic baby doll is hidden in it and whoever finds it has to throw a party the next time.
11. Etouffee
Again a dish common in both Creole and Cajun cuisine, it is usually served as a soup. Made with crawfish or shrimp, this is different from Gumbo (gumbo is a variety of meat served in one dish). Usually served with rice, this dish is a must-have.
12. Red beans and Rice
It’s basically Rajma Chawal with some different spices and added sausages. Indians, if you want to get experimental with your basic Rajma Chawal then there is nothing better.
13. Turtle soup
Many versions of this are famous in different parts of the world. Being a part of the Creole cuisine family, this dish is common in New Orleans.
14. Doberge Cake
A half and half cake, half made of chocolate cake and half made of lemon pudding. It has thin layers of frosting, but the flavour will definitely leave you sated.
15. Beignets
A sweet dish from France that has found its placed into the hearts of Louisiana and many other places in the world. It is usually made from Choux pastry or pâte à choux. Different types of dough like yeast dough might also be used. It is basically a deep-fried dough topped with powdered sugar.
16. Praline
Pralines are chocolates that originate in Belgium but have their versions in America and France. The Belgium version has a chocolate shell with a liquid filling inside. In Louisiana praline resembles a candy or fudge. Buttery candies that are “love at first bite.”
17. Jambalaya
This dish is similar to many other dishes of Louisiana as the ingredients are more or less the same but also different in certain ways. Like rice is cooked with other ingredients in Jambalaya unlike in Gumbo. Etouffee is a stew that unlike Jambalaya does not include sausage. In fact, Jambalaya uses Andouille. It is a heavily smoked and spiced sausage originating from France.
18. Banana Fosters
A dessert made from banana and vanilla ice cream added with a sauce made with brown sugar, butter and cinnamon, dark rum and banana liqueur. Rum is added after butter, brown sugar and cinnamon, igniting the sauce.
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