Let me begin this recipe by defining the word piquant. The word (or term) piquant (or the more formalized piquante) comes from the French and refers to a taste sensation like having “a sticker on your tongue”. The Larousse Gastronomique defines it as “creating a prickly sensation in the mouth”. The bottom line, if you haven’t gathered already, is the sauce for this dish is hot and spicy. The idea in cooking terms is it’s not necessarily so hot as to blow your head off, but the heat is there to stimulate the taste buds with its spicy, tangy and peppery ingredients. The degree of spicy complexity then, is controlled by the cook. The addition of vinegars, cayenne peppers and other acidic components help vary and increase this spicy profile found in various other examples of this recipe.
Sauce Piquant is decidedly a Cajun recipe, but the influences of Creole cuisine are very apparent. One can easily see looking at the ingredients that the sauce has its basis in a Cajun roux and trinity foundation, but adds the Creole touch of tomatoes (perhaps the Italian influences) and the peppery spiciness which is distinctly Spanish and Caribbean in nature. The overall one-pot, slow cooking process and the flexibility of using whatever protein is available harkens back to its Cajun roots once again. Its yet another example of the melting pot that is Louisiana Real and Rustic cooking!
Variants of this dish include the use of chicken, turtle, rabbit, alligator, and various seafood in Sauce Piquant recipes. Cajuns would use whatever was available from hunting, fishing, or growing. The method would remain the same, but variations would occur depending upon the protein being utilized.
The best Sauce Piquants then are spicy but also part of a complex flavor profile that excite the taste buds. The sauce is slow cooked and reduced to bring out the acid, sweetness and spicy profiles controlled entirely by the person doing the cooking’s taste and tolerance for heat. You also bring the sauce along slowly to tenderize the tougher proteins which are introduced at some measured point in the cook.
Bottom line, play with the ingredients, the degree of heat and I believe you will fall in love with Sauce Piquant. To quote Chef Paul Prudhomme, "If you don't hover between pleasure and pain when you eat it, chances are you haven't made your sauce piquant quite hot enough!"
Shrimp Sauce Piquant
Course. Lunch or Dinner.
Cuisine. Louisiana Cajun
Makes. 4-5 servings
Takes. 30 minutes prep, 2.5-3 hours cooking time
Ingredients
2 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tablespoons Creole seasoning (like Tony C's), divided
1/4 cup avocado oil
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 Jalapeno Pepper chopped
1-2 hot Italian cherry peppers chopped
2 teaspoons hot cherry pepper juice
5 cloves garlic, chopped
1-15 oz can Muir Glen tomato sauce
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 cups shrimp stock*
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire
Juice of half a lemon
1 teaspoon hot pepper flakes
2 teaspoons cayenne powder
2 tablespoons Tabasco
1/2 cup chopped green onions for garnish
White rice for service
*Note: make your own shrimp stock from the shrimp shells + aromatics. If you can’t the use of chicken or a good seafood stock is a good substitute.
Directions
Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels, sprinkle and mix in 1 tablespoon of the Creole seasoning. Refrigerate until needed.
Combine the oil and flour in an enameled or other heavy bottomed stockpot and begin cooking over medium high heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the roux becomes a medium brown, caramel color.
Add the onions, bell pepper, jalapeno, hot Italian peppers and celery. Add the remaining Creole seasoning and cook over medium heat, stirring often until vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook another 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
Next, stir in the cayenne, Tabasco, hot pepper juice, Worcestershire, wine, sugar and 1 cup of the shrimp stock. Bring to a boil and continue at a medium boil, stirring often, for about 5 minutes.
Add the tomato sauce, return to a boil, reduce heat to medium low and let simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
After the first hour, stir in another cup of shrimp stock, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes longer.
Repeat, adding a cup of the stock and cooking another 30 minutes.
Add the lemon juice, remaining Tabasco and cook for another 10 minutes. Finally add the last cup of stock, bring to a boil, add the shrimp, and simmer for another 15 to 20 minutes.
Spoon over rice in bowls, garnish with green onions and serve with crusty bread to sop up the juices. Have Tabasco sauce on the side for your guests. Enjoy!!
Enjoy Louisiana Real and Rustic cooking, you will fall in love with it.
In the words of the late Justin Wilson……
In case you missed any recipes in this series, check out these other Louisiana Real and Rustic dishes;
Seafood Courtboullion
Boudin Stuffed Quail
Shrimp & Oyster Stuffed Whole Flounder
Red Beans & Rice
Cajun Side Dishes
Popeye's Chicken & Waffles
Dirty Rice
Sauce Piquant is decidedly a Cajun recipe, but the influences of Creole cuisine are very apparent. One can easily see looking at the ingredients that the sauce has its basis in a Cajun roux and trinity foundation, but adds the Creole touch of tomatoes (perhaps the Italian influences) and the peppery spiciness which is distinctly Spanish and Caribbean in nature. The overall one-pot, slow cooking process and the flexibility of using whatever protein is available harkens back to its Cajun roots once again. Its yet another example of the melting pot that is Louisiana Real and Rustic cooking!
Variants of this dish include the use of chicken, turtle, rabbit, alligator, and various seafood in Sauce Piquant recipes. Cajuns would use whatever was available from hunting, fishing, or growing. The method would remain the same, but variations would occur depending upon the protein being utilized.
The best Sauce Piquants then are spicy but also part of a complex flavor profile that excite the taste buds. The sauce is slow cooked and reduced to bring out the acid, sweetness and spicy profiles controlled entirely by the person doing the cooking’s taste and tolerance for heat. You also bring the sauce along slowly to tenderize the tougher proteins which are introduced at some measured point in the cook.
Bottom line, play with the ingredients, the degree of heat and I believe you will fall in love with Sauce Piquant. To quote Chef Paul Prudhomme, "If you don't hover between pleasure and pain when you eat it, chances are you haven't made your sauce piquant quite hot enough!"
Shrimp Sauce Piquant
Course. Lunch or Dinner.
Cuisine. Louisiana Cajun
Makes. 4-5 servings
Takes. 30 minutes prep, 2.5-3 hours cooking time
Ingredients
2 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tablespoons Creole seasoning (like Tony C's), divided
1/4 cup avocado oil
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 Jalapeno Pepper chopped
1-2 hot Italian cherry peppers chopped
2 teaspoons hot cherry pepper juice
5 cloves garlic, chopped
1-15 oz can Muir Glen tomato sauce
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 cups shrimp stock*
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire
Juice of half a lemon
1 teaspoon hot pepper flakes
2 teaspoons cayenne powder
2 tablespoons Tabasco
1/2 cup chopped green onions for garnish
White rice for service
*Note: make your own shrimp stock from the shrimp shells + aromatics. If you can’t the use of chicken or a good seafood stock is a good substitute.
Directions
Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels, sprinkle and mix in 1 tablespoon of the Creole seasoning. Refrigerate until needed.
Combine the oil and flour in an enameled or other heavy bottomed stockpot and begin cooking over medium high heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the roux becomes a medium brown, caramel color.
Add the onions, bell pepper, jalapeno, hot Italian peppers and celery. Add the remaining Creole seasoning and cook over medium heat, stirring often until vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook another 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
Next, stir in the cayenne, Tabasco, hot pepper juice, Worcestershire, wine, sugar and 1 cup of the shrimp stock. Bring to a boil and continue at a medium boil, stirring often, for about 5 minutes.
Add the tomato sauce, return to a boil, reduce heat to medium low and let simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
After the first hour, stir in another cup of shrimp stock, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes longer.
Repeat, adding a cup of the stock and cooking another 30 minutes.
Add the lemon juice, remaining Tabasco and cook for another 10 minutes. Finally add the last cup of stock, bring to a boil, add the shrimp, and simmer for another 15 to 20 minutes.
Spoon over rice in bowls, garnish with green onions and serve with crusty bread to sop up the juices. Have Tabasco sauce on the side for your guests. Enjoy!!
Enjoy Louisiana Real and Rustic cooking, you will fall in love with it.
In the words of the late Justin Wilson……
In case you missed any recipes in this series, check out these other Louisiana Real and Rustic dishes;
Seafood Courtboullion
Boudin Stuffed Quail
Shrimp & Oyster Stuffed Whole Flounder
Red Beans & Rice
Cajun Side Dishes
Popeye's Chicken & Waffles
Dirty Rice
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