I have been cranking out New Orleans style cuisine like mad recently. Cajun and creole foods are my favorites. Cajun and creole are both cuisine styles that originate from French settlers of Louisiana. I have always thought of them as one in the same, so today i did a little research to discover the difference. Here is a quick breakdown:
Creole cooking was considered city style. It was made with richer ingredients like butter in the roux, and uses more seafood. Creole style cooks had access to markets and utilized more ingredients that were not locally available, like tomatoes, garlic and okra.
Cajun cooking was considered to be more country style. The roux is made with oil and utilizes readily available ingredients, strongly pork and crawfish. Cajun style has been recognized as spicy using cayenne readily. Cajun food is also known for using the “holy trinity” of peppers, onions, and celery as a base for their recipes.
In vegetarian jambalaya I use creole style ingredients such as tomatoes and garlic. For my cajun flavors, I chose a locally available vegetable, zucchini, used peppers and onions as a base, and seasoned it well, including cayenne. Instead of meat or seafood, I opted for smoked tofu to keep this dish vegetarian.
I love the combination of flavors, spicy and savory, with plenty of veggies in mine please! I transferred and finished this dish in my rice cooker, but you could easily add the rice and finish on the stove top as well. Enjoy!
- 8 oz smoked tofu
- 2 TBS olive oil, divided
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- ½ large bell pepper, chopped
- 1 TBS minced garlic
- 14 oz can no-salt added diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 tsp old bay seasoning
- ¼ tsp Parsley
- ¼ tsp Thyme
- ¼ tsp Oregano
- ¼ tsp Black pepper
- ⅛ tsp Cayenne
- 2 “cups” long grained brown rice
- 3 “cups” water
- 2 tsp veggie bouillon
- 1 Bay leaf
- Finely dice the smoked tofu and sauté until slightly browned in 1 TBS olive oil. Remove from pan.
- Add remaining TBS olive oil with onion and bell pepper. Cook until it starts to soften and onion is translucent. Add garlic through cayenne and cook uncovered until liquid reduces, about 15 minutes.
- Transfer the veggie mixture to a rice cooker. Add rice, water, bouillon, and bay leaf. Cook about 30 minutes and stir in the zucchini and tofu.
- Cook about 10 more minutes or until the rice cooker switches over to warm.
