Need a good idea for Mardi Gras food? Daniel’s family lived in New Orleans for several years when he was growing up and the culinary tradition of that fair city is still strong with him. Tonight we celebrated his sweet mom’s birthday with some delicious gumbo and shrimp remoulade. Then I realized how perfect it was for a Mardi Gras meal and wrangled him into typing up his recipe! Seriously, so good.
Shrimp Remoulade
The original remoulade is actually a French sauce a lot like aioli or mayonnaise with the addition of finely diced herbs and vegetables. In France, the sauce is quite mild. The New Orleans version has much more of a kick! In fact, Louisiana Remoulade often bears very little resemblance to its French ancestor. In New Orleans, Remoulade can be mayonnaise based (like the kind chef John Folse makes), oil based, or even ketchup based (like you can get at Tujague’s on Decatur Street, one of the oldest restaurants in New Orleans). The only common features are that it’s served cold with shrimp and is usually quite… piquant. Like all Southerners, I always love a good mayonnaise-based sauce. But my take on remoulade combines some elements of other kinds too.
Ingredients
- 1 cup mayo
- ⅓ cup spicy mustard
- 1 Tbsp horseradish
- 3 tsp worcestershire
- 3 green onions finely diced
- 2 celery stalks celery finely diced
- Handful of parsley finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic finely diced
- Splash of hot sauce
- Splash of lemon juice
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Mix all the ingredients and let remoulade chill in the fridge for a couple hours. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
- Serve over boiled and peeled shrimp that have also been cooled. Often shrimp remoulade is served on a bed of lettuce with bread, crackers, or even fried green tomatoes.
Do you have a traditional Mardi Gras food or tradition at your house? I wanna hear about it in the comments!
(And p.s. you can find more recipes that celebrate the Christian Year in our cookbooks Feast! and More Feasts! )
A King Cake from Haydel’s in Metairie, the bakery two blocks from the house my mom grew up in. She sends one to us every year.
I don’t have any family in New Orleans anymore, but the culinary tradition is strong for my family still, too.
Mmmm! That sounds amazing!
I am going to have King Cake too! Tomorrow! From a vegan bakery in my neighborhood.
Y’all are making me jealous! We’re going to make GF cupcakes but that’s kinda womp womp after all this talk of yummy king cake! haha 🙂
Fried green tomatoes? I’m coming to your house!
We’re having crawfish étouffée that I’ll be making and a king cake from HEB (local grocery store).
We went for it– really delicious!! Had been planning on a pancake dinner, but after I saw your post the other day and realized I had everything I needed (minus shrimp), the idea of a savory meal seemed even better. I added several big splashes of hot sauce, yikes, and luckily managed to keep it at the point where I can still eat and enjoy while my husband adds extra at the table. =) Had some chopped-up okra in the freezer from the summer, all ready to fry, which went great on the side. Fun to see the skillet full of actual fat on Fat Tuesday! Thanks for a great dinner inspiration.