Cajun/Creole Sausage Pasta

For those of you who have been following me for a while, you know I love good Cajun/Creole food. I was raised on it. Originally, both were poor man’s food in the bayous of Louisiana, with Creole being slightly more “upscale” because of the addition of fresh herbs. Every time a dish was made, it might be slightly different than the last time it was made, since every time is was based on foods you had on hand at the time of making. Then everything was just thrown together to create a delicious meal.

Today, most of our kitchens are more well stocked, so Cajun/Creole meals are planned out a bit more. Though, I still cook like my Aunt Gloria did, and I throw in whatever I have at the time. Last night I made a Cajun/Creole pasta with beef kielbasa and a ton of vegetables with a tomato cream sauce.

I am not going to give you an actual recipe, because true Cajun/Creole food is always made up of bits and pieces of whatever is available. But I will give you the “how’s” . Mix it, match it and change it how you like. That is the beauty of cooking this type of cuisine. 🙂

All Cajun/Creole food starts with the Holy Trinity, which is green peppers, onions, and celery. I also add garlic and almost always use some kind of hot peppers as well. Sometimes I use jalapenos and sometimes I use roasted Hatch chilies, like I did this time. This time I used red bell peppers instead of green bell peppers too. I like red peppers better, though I use green peppers all the time for many recipes as well. This time I also added mushrooms, corn, green beans and tomatoes.

Dice and cut all the vegetables. Slice the kielbasa.

Cook the sausage in olive oil and/or butter until it is browned, then remove it from the heat and set aside.

Carefully add the vegetables, except for the tomatoes, and cook for about 5-7 minutes, or until they are tender and the onions are translucent.

Add the tomatoes, seasonings and about 1 cup of a dry white wine and combine well. Cook for about 2-3 minutes, or until the wine is reduced by at least half.

Re-add the sausage and about 1-1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and continue to cook for about 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently. Re-adjust the seasonings as needed. For seasonings, I added salt & pepper to taste, about 1 tsp of cayenne pepper, and about 1 TBSP of Cajun/Creole seasoning, 1 tsp dried thyme, 1 tsp dried marjoram, and 1 tsp dried oregano.

Towards the very end of the cooking process, add a little lemon juice and stir in. The lemon juice helps awaken all the flavors, especially the tomato, and really brings the dish to life. If you like your sauce a little thicker, add about 1-2 TBSP of flour and mix in thoroughly, while the sauce is still cooking. Make sure the flour cooks completely. The taste of raw flour is not appealing at all.

This is a heavy cream sauce that needs to be with a heavier pasta, so fettuccine is perfect. Once the pasta is cooked and the sauce is ready, serve the sauce over the pasta alongside a good hearty bread. I served it with chardonnay, but a lighter red, like a pinot noir, would go nicely as well. Enjoy! I thought this would be a perfect dish for Fat Tuesday, that is coming up right around the corner. Laissez le bontemps roulez!

Stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.