The holy trinity

Lousiana, and New Orleans in particular, is famous for its fine cuisine. At age 16, that is where I 1st learned to cook in restaurants and hotels.

So, what is one of their great secrets ? The Holy Trinity.

It is the base of many of their great dishes.

When making a variety of soups and main entrees they start with, fresh onions, celery and sweet green and/or red peppers.

to start the base for a small recipe for singles or for two people.

1/2 large yellow onion, med-finely chopped.
2 sticks of celery, med-finely chopped
1/2 of a large green pepper, chopped

Melt 2 TBLSP of butter in a saute pan or a pot.
Add 1 TBLSP of olive oil.
add all vegetables and saute, stirring frequently, over low heat until the onions take on a light golden color. Note: please don't wander away or answer the phone. It is easy to forget to watch the saute and you will end up burning it.

Ok, now what to do with it ? You have an almost infinite variety of options. It can be the base for many soups, such as beef barley, veg soup, seafood soups etc. Or, you can use it as a base for making up a pot of delicious dried beans. New Orleans is world famous for its "Red Beans, sausage and rice". Every restaurant in New Orleans serves Red Beans for lunch on every Monday. The Holy Trinity is also the base for Shrimp Creole. You are limited only by your imagination

You might ask why serve Red Beans on Mondays ?
It started a hundred years or more ago because wives traditionally did their laundry on Mondays, BY HAND, and they needed something that could simmer for hours with little attention. Thus the wives could do the laundry, a back-breaking job, and still serve dinner to their husbands who returned home from work.

Both Red Beans and Sausage and the Shrimp Creole have as their base the Holy Trinity

Re: The holy trinity

You are a mine of information, Bakerman, I always look forward to your posts!

The 'Holy Trinity' in my house would be Onions, Garlic and Tomatoes - am never without them!

The two dishes you mention look delicious - any chance of the recipes? I know they may already be on google - but I would prefer your tried and tested version.

Re: The holy trinity

Certainly , Tabby.

In order to do the Red Beans and sausage with rice, you must buy the beans from Amazon.com because the beans are quite a special kind. Some people, who do not know better use plain Red Kidney beans but they are not the same. If you decide to buy from Amazon pls be positive that you buy the ones labeled (at the top of the pack) "Famous New Orleans style red Beans". Just look up Camellia Red Beans. Plus you will need smoked ham hocks. if you have them in the UK. And, you'll need beef Polish sausage. The sausages they use in New Orleans are not available anywhere outside the deep south.

You'll have a much easier time with Shrimp Creole as you will certainly be able to purchase everything you need at your local market. Let me know what you decide, please.
Quite busy for the next 24 hours so it will be a while before I get back to you

Re: The holy trinity

Never heard of Camellia Red beans - so let's start with those. Do I have to soak/cook them before hand to remove toxins as with Kidney beans?

Smoked ham hocks and polish sausage are not a problem.

Just looked on Amazon - they only have Camellia Field Peas or Cream peas - no beans at all.

Perhaps Shrimp Creole then ??

Re: The holy trinity

Baker man I keep making your fried rice recipe I add prawns it’s so yummy .

Re: The holy trinity

Camellia is merely the brand name. I'm not surprised you never heard of them. Strange that in The UK you can not order Camellia Red Beans. In the US there are many types of dried beans we can order from Amazon. When I have time I'll chat with Amazon to find out why they don't list Camellia Red Beans in the UK.

To answer your question, yes you would need to soak them overnight. They, naturally, swell up while soaking. You then drain the beans, discarding the soaking water.

As per the Shrimp Creole, I'll post the recipe tomorrow night or on Sunday. Right now it's bedtime for Bonzo.

Re: The holy trinity

Thank you, Bakerman, you are a star. Sweet dreams!

Re: The holy trinity

Tabby, do you have access to fresh, med large shrimp with the heads and shells still on ?

Re: The holy trinity

I certainly do! There is an excellent fishmonger in the market place in town.

Re: The holy trinity

Ok, here we go. Please bear with me. I takes quite a bit to describe, but not so much to do.

Step one is to make a SEAFOOD STOCK.
The following assumes you have 1/2 kilo of shrimp.

Peel shrimp and cut off heads. Put heads and shells in a small pot with the following. (put shrimp back in fridge).
1/2 onion chopped
1/2 stick celery, chopped
juice of 1/4 lemon
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp ground thyme
1/4 tsp oregano
3 black pepper corns
1/4 tsp basil
1 TBLSP fresh parsley, minced
1 tsp tarragon

simmer for 30 minutes, Strain well and refrigerate OR freeze for later use.
3 cups water