3 Cajun-inspired fusion recipes from Bayou Gourmet Cookbook

In the broader food world, fusion cuisine is a major, somewhat recent force in the American culinary landscape.

In Cajun country, the idea of combining two cultures' techniques and ingredients to create a distinct cuisine is nothing new.

After all, Creole cooking in New Orleans began by using foods available in south Louisiana and applying classic French techniques and ingredients to them, and that started about 300 years ago.

But that sort of creativity can also be found on the bayou, as local cooks fuse the local culinary traditions with other cultures to create something special in the following three recipes, two of them inspired by Italy and the other by Mexico, taken from The Courier and Daily Comet Bayou Gourmet Cookbook:

Cajun Bruschetta

1 loaf day-old skinny French bread

Olive oil

3 cloves garlic - crushed

2 medium onions - chopped

1/2 bell pepper - chopped

2 stalks, celery - chopped

3 lbs. Louisiana shrimp - peeled and deveined

1 lb. lump crabmeat or claw meat

Tony's Low Sodium Seasoning

Topping:

Combine garlic and 2 tbsp. olive oil and set aside.

In skillet or saucepan, heat 2 tbsp. olive oil over medium-high heat, add onions and saute until caramelized.

Add bell pepper and celery, season with Tony's seasoning, saute until soft.

Put cooked vegetables into blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

Add back to hot skillet or saucepan and add shrimp and heat until cooked through.

Add crabmeat and stir until hot.

Bread:

Slice loaf into thick slices, brush tops with previously reserved olive oil and garlic mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees until toasted, add shrimp and crabmeat mixture, serve hot.

— Submitted by Hazel Thibodeaux, 2018.

Spinach Shrimp Spaghetti

8 oz. dry spaghetti

1 lb. fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 tbsp. butter

1 tbsp. olive oil

2 large tomatoes, diced

9 oz. baby spinach, washed

1 tsp. red pepper flakes

1 tbsp. minced garlic

Boil spaghetti in ample water.

In skillet or saucepan, saute shrimp in butter, olive oil until pink.

Add tomatoes, cook 4 minutes.

Add spinach, season with salt and pepper to taste, cook until just soft.

Drain spaghetti, add to skillet or saucepan, cook for 1-2 minutes, serve.

— Submitted by Leonard Summers Jr., 2006.

Crawfish Enchiladas Suizas

1/2 cup butter, divided

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 tbsp. minced garlic

12 oz. green tomatillo salsa

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. hot sauce

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1 lb. crawfish tails

1/2 cup flour

1 1/2 cup whole milk

8 oz. Gruyere cheese, grated

8 oz. Monterrey Jack cheese, grated

10 flour tortillas

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In skillet over medium heat, melt 1/4 cup butter.

Add onions and garlic, saute for 5 minutes or until soft.

Add salsa, cumin, hot sauce and cilantro, cook for 2 minutes.

Add crawfish tails, cook for 2 minutes, or just until warmed through.

In saucepan, melt 1/4 cup butter, add flour, stir to make light roux.

Whisk in milk, cook for 2 minutes, add cheeses until melted, remove from heat.

Spread 1 tsp. cheese sauce on each tortilla, add 1/4 cup crawfish mixture to each tortilla, roll, place in buttered baking dish.

Pour remaining cheese sauce over rolled enchiladas, bake for 30 minutes uncovered.

— Submitted by Geralyn Dunckelman, 2009.