Fry

Johnny On The Bayou

by:
April  6, 2012
0
0 Ratings
Johnny On The Bayou
  • Serves 8 johnny cakes - 4 entrees or 8 appetizers
Author Notes

This recipe comes from 2 places. The Johnnycake from my years in Rhode Island. The story has it that the Pawtuxet Indians showed settlers in Little Rhody how to grow corn and make it into Johnnycakes after their wheat flour all molded on the long trip over. Typically served with honey or syrup - but now I am headed to Louisiana, a place that we love dearly and visit often. I decided to pair a Bayou Macque Choux with the Johnnycakes - corn on corn - and it came out pretty darn good. —aargersi

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • Macque Choux
  • 1/2 cup diced yellow onion
  • 1/2 cup diced celery
  • 1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
  • 2 large cloves garlic - minced
  • 1 cup chopped tomato (I use cherry tomatoes in winter when the big guys aren't good)
  • 1 cup corn (use frozen if corn is out of season)
  • 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning (Try to get a low salt variety - we use Joe's Stuff from the New Orleans School Of Cooking - or of course you can mix up your own if you are so inclined)
  • 1/4 cup dry white wine
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon minced fresh marjoram
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 cup jumbo lump crab meat
  • 1 jalapeno or fresno pepper - seeded and diced
  • olive oil
  • cayenne pepper if that's how you roll (I DO!)
  • Johnny Cakes
  • 1 cup stone ground cornmeal
  • 1 cup boiling water
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk (full fat is better!)
  • a good pinch of salt
  • a big scoop of duck fat
Directions
  1. Macque Choux
  2. Add enough olive oil to a skillet to cover the bottom. Heat to medium-high and add in the onions. Saute until they begin to sweat, then add the peppers, celery and garlic. Add the cajun seasoning. After a couple more minutes add in the tomato and corn. After a couple MORE minutes add the wine, and cook until it has mostly evaporated. Now stir in the cream and marjoram, and gently stir in the crab. Taste for salt / heat - you may need more seasoning or just some straight cayenne if you want it spicy. Turn off the heat until you are ready to serve.
  3. When the Johnny cakes are ready, turn the heat back on and stir in the parsley.
  1. Johnny Cakes
  2. Stir the salt and cornmeal together in a metal bowl. Pour BOILING water in, and stir it all together - this will form a thick paste. Let that rest for several minutes, then stir in the buttermilk.
  3. Heat the duck fat to fairly hot - if you have a good seasoned iron skillet use that, if not use a no-stick. Scoop the batter into the pan and flatten it slightly (I use a dough scooper thing). Fry until it is crispy and brown, then flip and brown the other side.
  4. Serve each cake with a nice dollop of macque choux. Laissez les bons temps rouler!!!!
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  • em-i-lis
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  • hardlikearmour
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  • LeBec Fin
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  • aargersi
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aargersi

Recipe by: aargersi

Country living, garden to table cooking, recent beek, rescue all of the dogs, #adoptdontshop

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6 Reviews

em-i-lis
em-i-lis April 10, 2012
these look really fab, aagersi!!
 
hardlikearmour
hardlikearmour April 9, 2012
These sound amazing! What would you use to fry them if you didn't have some delicious duck fat on hand? (I know - the horror!)
 
aargersi
aargersi April 9, 2012
Probably good old butter - but you know I would never be caught out without my duck fat :-)
 
LeBec F.
LeBec F. April 6, 2012
p.s. love the recipe title. I know you're referring to the johnnycakes, but what it made me think of was a song by Johnny Horton when I was young -about the Battle of New Orleans!! HA! >>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsRK3DNoa_Q
 
LeBec F.
LeBec F. April 6, 2012
REALLY nice job of pairing two worthwhile recipes that benefit from being eaten together! I haven't seen that done much in the 52 recipes i've poured through, but i think it makes alot of sense.And it can up the game in a lively way. How one pairs dishes is as important as the things themselves on their own- for showing a chef's true talents. I mean, if you had paired a ground beef-mashed potato casserole with these pancakes, your street cred would go right down the toilet!!! Nice job and thx for the inspiration.
best,
mindy
 
aargersi
aargersi April 7, 2012
Thanks Mindy! What nice comments! They are quite tasty if I do say so ...