Norman’s Meatball Étouffée

Norman’s Meatball Étouffée

Back when I would go down to South Louisiana each spring I fell in love with Cajun food. Crawfish Étouffée, Turtle Sauce Piquant, Fried Oyster Po’ Boys, Seafood Gumbo and Turtle Soup are all favorites of mine that I would indulge in during my visits. 

When I’m not there, I have picked up the habit of making Cajun dishes out of ingredients found in the Chicago area. This is a good example of how I would do it.

For the meatballs:

1 lb. ground beef

2 eggs

2 shallots, minced fine

4 cloves of garlic, smashed and finely minced

1/2 cup grated parmesan

1/4 bread crumbs

1 tsp. cajun seasoning

For the étouffée:

1 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped bell pepper
1 cayenne pepper chopped
2 cloves garlic - smashed and minced 

1 cup olive oil
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. white pepper
1/2 tsp. ground cayenne
1 tsp. basil
1 tsp. thyme

1 quart or more of chicken stock

Preparation

Place the beef, eggs, shallots, garlic, parmesan, bread crumbs and cajun seasoning in a bowl. Use your hands and combine everything together until it is well mixed. Still using your hands and form them into little meatballs. Set them aside.

Have the onions, celery, peppers and garlic chopped and ready right by the stove. Heat a large dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the oil and using a long handled wooden spoon, whisk the flour into the oil. Continue whisking over medium high heat without splashing yourself until the flour is the color of milk chocolate. 

Donʼt let the flour scorch. As it reaches a light brown color, lower the heat to medium. As soon as the chocolate color is reached, add the onions, celery, peppers and garlic. Stir for about two minutes and add the seasonings and two cups of the vegetable stock. 

Bring the liquid to a boil, while stirring. Add more chicken stock, a little at a time. You want the sauce to be fairly thick, like a gravy. Check it by bringing it to a boil after each addition of stock.

Add the meatballs and let them simmer in the sauce for twenty minutes, stirring gently so you don’t break them up. Add more stock if the sauce gets too thick. Taste and adjust for salt, pepper and Tabasco.

Serving

To serve my meatball étouffée, place a big pile of rice in the center of the plate and smother it in the étouffée, making sure you have lots of meatballs on it. Along with this, you will want to serve fresh homemade bread and butter, a large tossed salad, green beans sautéed with almonds and plenty of icy cold beer.