What about a vegetarian Gumbo soup; red beans and rice Creole style; fried green tomatoes;hush puppies; spoon bread; stewed collard greens or mashed turnips -- all of these are very Southern; maybe not all Louisiana

Great ideas. I just can't wrap my head around vegetarian gumbo or RB&R!!! ;) I need an entree but this is a good start! Thank you!

Not sure if this is indigenous Louisiana,but...
How about a vegetarian Red Beans and Rice, using liquid smoke for the smoky flavor? Leave out the garlic and add more onions?

Forgot, here's a link to Vegetarian Times and they have a category for vegetarian Cajun recipes, http://www.vegetariantimes...

Emily: Leah Chase's Gumbo Z'Herbes is a vegetarian gumbo traditionally served on Maundy Thursday that is SO delicious, and that folks line up out the door of Dooky Chase for. I have the recipe, but it's in a book. If you like, I can email it to you. As well, there are lots of vegetarians down there in LA. Most of the dishes can be done just fine without meat -- and just as tasty.

You are right, ChefJune. I was a vegetarian for nearly 20 years but having moved back into the realm of meat, well...it's hard to think back whilst ignoring the siren call of bacon. :) i would LOVE the gumbo z'herbes recipe if it's no trouble for you! i'm already doing a chicken and sausage gumbo so it might be neat to have both...i'll message you my email address but no rush or obligation! thank you!

I commonly have a turkey gumbo feast after TG, but make vegetarian red beans and rice and greens gumbo for the vegetarian contingent. Cornbread is a must, too. Check out Chuck Taggart's Gumbo pages. He's got recipes for veggie red beans and rice, gumbo z'herbes, and a vegetarian jambalaya: http://www.gumbopages.com...
The red beans and rice and gumbo are really, really good -- I've made both numerous times.

wait, is vegetarian no fish? are eggs okay?

how 'bout a veggie po' boy? Tempura veggies instead of oysters. I made these shrimp po' boys and they rock. Especially the tartar sauce. http://food52.com/recipes... You could replace the shrimp with okra, like here: http://www.saveur.com/article...
(although it doesn't specify how much buttermilk to use, but I would guess a few cups worth.) Or how about fried green tomatoes instead, if you can get green tomatoes?

Or veggie muffuletta? I know, that's probably a sacrilege even to think it. ;)

Hi Em--I have 2 gumbo z'herbes recipes on this site: http://food52.com/recipes... and
http://food52.com/recipes... (which has andouille but you could leave it out).
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Oops. And here's testkitchenette's yummy vegetable muffaletta:
http://food52.com/recipes...

I'm not sure how this would be without meat or garlic, but the wine does add a lot of flavor: http://food52.com/recipes...

Emily: Maque Choux is just corn and tomatoes... you can use veggie broth instead of chicken.

Susan Voisin's blog, blog.fatfreevegan.com, is a good resource. Susan is originally from SE Louisiana, now lives in Jackson, Mississippi. I searched the site for 'Cajun' and 'Louisiana' and found plenty of recipes. Just about all the recipes mentioned are included there.

Another good one is stuffed mirlton aka Chayote. I feel obliged to point out that there is a big difference between "cajun" and the broader spectrum of Louisiana cooking which is mostly creole. Visitors to New Orleans tend to errantly assume that they are one and the same, but they are not. You won't find blackened redfish on the menu at Galatoire. Likewise, the classic muffaletta has nothing to do with cajun anything.

Just whispering ... no doubt you would not that Emily is a brilliant cook but did you know that her grandparents owned an amazing restaurant there long before your ancestors left Italy and my Irish ones left Ireland? Food52 is packed full of people who know stuff.