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Goodbye Joe, me gotta go, me-oh my-oh.
Me gotta go pole the pirogue down the bayou.
My Yvonne, the sweetest one, me-oh my-oh
Son of a gun we’ll have big fun on the bayou.
Jambalaya and a crawfish pie and a filé gumbo
’Cause tonight I’m gonna see my ma chère amie-oh
Son of a gun we’ll have big fun on the bayou
.
J
ambalaya is the Cajun anthem, yet it was
written by a man from Mount Olive,
Alabama, the late, great Hank Williams
Sr. Renditions have been recorded by Fats
Domino, Jimmy Buffett, Harry Connick
Jr., Tab Benoit, the Meters, Van Morrison and John Fogerty of
Creedence Clearwater Revival fame, just to name a few. (Tab’s
rendition is my personal favorite). Arguably the most performed
song in the history of Rock’n’Bowl, Jambalaya is also the most
popular dish served at a Rock’n’Bowl party.
Me-oh my-oh!
Jambalaya is so versatile it can be served as a side dish or an entrée,
on the fanciest of china or in a plain foam bowl. A quick recipe
search will turn up as many variations of jambalaya as iTunes will
jambalaya. For me, it’s hard to beat a traditional cast iron pot version
with boneless chicken thighs, Rouses smoked sausage, and the trinity
all browned to perfection. Add some stock (cut back on your stock
in larger pots), local rice, your favorite spice blend, fresh chopped
tomatoes, and bring to a boil.When you hit peak heat, cover the pot,
turn down the temperature, and simmer until the rice is cooked.
Jambalaya can take all day or just an hour. If you
gotta go,
Rouses has
jambalaya mixes that make life easy, like the locally produced Cook
Me Somethin’ Mister and the old standby, Zatarain’s.
I mentioned that Jambalaya the song is an anthem. Jambalaya the
food is an ambassador. On a family trip to England, we were asked
to sing a song that epitomized our culture, and my son, Blaise, and
I picked Jambalaya. Later in
the trip we threw a party for
some Liverpudlians, and my
wife cooked, you guessed it,
jambalaya.
the Best of the fest — Crawfish pie
You should know that I love Jazz Fest and that I mostly go for the
food. I’ve been known to eat two cochon de lait po-boys in one day,
plus a few more things just for lagniappe. One of my other Fest
favorites is crawfish pie, which Mrs. Wheat fries in huge deep fryers
and serves hot. My version of crawfish pie is baked, but you could
fry them, either in a pan with 2 inches of hot oil, or in a deep fryer.
I personally hate cleaning up my kitchen after the oil splatters
everywhere, so I bake them. These are great for Lent or Easter.
—Laura Fuentes
WHAT YOU WILL NEED
2
cups seasoned Louisiana crawfish tails with fat
1
box Zatarain’s jambalaya cooked following box directions
1
box frozen pie crust dough (with 2 crusts)
1
egg
1
tablespoon milk
HOW TO PREP
Defrost pie crusts.
Peel leftover Rouses boiled crawfish, about 6 pounds, or use defrosted Louisiana
crawfish tails warmed in butter and a teaspoon of crab boil.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cook the rice in one box of Zatarain’s jambalaya.
In a large bowl, mix the jambalaya and crawfish meat. Lay the pie dough on
a flat, floured surface. Using a round biscuit cutter or round glass, cut 16-20
round circles (to reuse the leftover corner pieces, reshape dough into a ball,
re-roll and cut.)
Lay 8-10 round circles on a parchment paper or silicone-lined baking pan. Begin
filling circles with crawfish rice mixture leaving a ¼” space around the edges.
Top with another round pie dough circle (while stretching it a bit with your
hands). Using a fork, clamp the edges all the way around.
Whisk the egg and milk in a shallow dish. Brush the tops of the pies with egg
mixture and bake 12-15 minutes until tops are golden brown.
Hank Williams, Sr.
MusIC
This is a fast and easy version of crawfish pie made with jambalaya (boxed or leftover). You can also use a creamy
filling like Prejean’s in Lafayette, which makes theirs with étouffée. Photo by
Laura Fuentes
Laura Fuentes
Laura Funetes is a food entre-
preneur, author and speaker,
and recent winner of an episode
of The Food Network program
Rewrapped. For more of her rec-
ipes and ideas visit
http://www.laurafuentes.com.
Jambalaya, Crawfish Pie,
Filé Gumbo
by
Chef Johnny Blancher