Typical New Orleans Dishes: It’s no secret that New Orleans cuisine is considered some of the most authentic in the United States. Its people have been blessed with an extraordinary pantry, thanks to the fact that the Gulf of Mexico and Lake Pontchartrain are full of different varieties of fish, shrimp, crabs, acamayas, oysters and clams. In addition, the land is inhabited by deer, bison, crocodiles, ducks, turkeys, rabbits, and frogs.
The first inhabitants cooked over fire and hot stones. They used lé (powder based on aromatic sassafras leaves), peppers and pumpkin.
The Choctaw, Chickasaw, Natchez, Chitimacha, and other tribes populated the area and preserved food by drying meat with salt, which they obtained by evaporating seawater.
The founders of the city of New Orleans, the Acadians, were born in the New World. They were descendants of French settlers who migrated to Louisiana through Saint-Dominique and settled in Atakapa.
Typical New Orleans Dishes: Gumbo
Invented in Louisiana during the 18th century, the word «gumbo» comes from the term «gombo,» an African word meaning okra. This southern dish takes the form of a soup or stew and can be made with a variety of meats or fish, although the base of asic roux, okra or filé powder remains constant.
Considered Creole cuisine, the dish combines traditions and ingredients from various cultures around the world, including West Africa, France, Spain, Germany, and the Choctaw, a Native American people who hail from the land that is now Louisiana, and is representative of the various peoples they have come to form the louisiana tradition. Meat-based gumbo can include chicken, duck, squirrel, or rabbit, while crab, shrimp, and oysters would be standard ingredients for the seafood variety. The extensive ingredients and preparation time required for the dish mean that many choose to make it in bulk, and thus enjoying a pot of gumbo is often a social occasion.
Muffuletta
The muffuletta sandwich is named after the round, focaccia-like Sicilian bread that serves as the base. Originating from the early Italian communities in New Orleans, the bread is packed with bologna, salami, mozzarella, prosciutto, provolone, and olive salad.
The first establishment to serve the muffuletta was Central Grocery, located in the French Quarter, which coined the name in 1904. Marie Lup Tusa, daughter of Central Grocery’s founder, remembers Italian farmers who sold their produce in local stores and they stopped for lunch at his father’s store. These men always ordered their sandwiches on muffuletta, or braided Italian bread, with all the meats that were offered in the deli. Muffuletta bread was soon recognized as the softer option, and thus the sandwich was born. Central Grocery’s original muffuletta is served cold, though toast is sometimes offered elsewhere.
Typical New Orleans Dishes: Crawfish Étouffée
Crabs are a famous crustacean at many New Orleans gatherings, known to the Louisiana crowd as ‘mudbugs.’ The word étouffée is derived from the term ‘smother’ which perfectly describes this stew as a dish. Encased in a seasonal roux, this meal has similarities to gumbo, though the lack of tomatoes gives it a lighter color.
Étouffée was originally popular in the backwaters of the Bayou in Louisiana and is therefore a very popular Cajun food. About 25 years ago, a waiter who worked at a Bourbon St. establishment brought the dish to work to serve his boss, who became very fond of the food. Étouffée was introduced to the city and has since proven to be a popular food.
Typical New Orleans Dishes: Po Boy
As with many prized New Orleans foods, accounts vary regarding the birth of the po boy sandwich. The prevailing story is that the sandwich was first served by former streetcar conductors and brothers Clovis and Benjamin Martin who opened a restaurant in the 1920s.
When the city’s streetcar workers went on strike in 1929, the brothers showed solidarity by producing a cheap sandwich with chunks of meat and gravy on a French roll. When the unemployed workers came to buy their lunch, the kitchen staff would yell “Here comes another poor boy!”, which soon became po-boy. New Orleans’ most famous sandwich usually consists of meat, commonly roast beef or fried seafood. Even though many changes have been made to the sauce and beef original, the po-boy is still the cheapest sandwich on the menu at the restaurants that serve it.
Jambalaya
The origins of Jambalaya are related to the arrival of the Spanish in the New World. The high import tax on saffron led to the development of creative interpretations of paella, initially replacing the beloved spice with juicy tomatoes in typical Spanish food. With the increased influence of French-speaking groups in New Orleans, Caribbean spices were introduced to the recipe, moving it away from its Spanish ties and transforming it into its own dish.
Like paella and gumbo, its rice base can be supplemented with a variety of ingredients; favorite options include beef, pork, chicken, duck, shrimp, oysters, crayfish, and sausage. Creole Jambalaya, the version typically made in New Orleans, includes tomatoes, while Cajun Jambalaya, from southwestern and central Louisiana, does not. According to food historian John Eggerton, in Gonzales, Louisiana, the namesake capital of Jambalaya, the number of recipes equals the number of households in the city.