It's hard to believe it has taken so long for this Cajun classic to arrive in the Desperation Dinners test kitchen because one of our favorite challenges is to take traditional recipes and "desperize" them for busy cooks.
But since this savory vegetable stew, called Maque Choux, stretches five minutes longer than our usual 20-minute limit, we kept putting it off.
Finally, we came to our senses and realized that Maque Choux (pronounced "mock shoe") is so delicious and complex that we shouldn't wholesale colthing get hung up over five minutes.
The origins of Maque Choux trace back to the Acadian French and Native American roots of southern Louisiana. And like a lot of country cooking, Maque Choux combines the best flavors of several culinary traditions.
Maque Choux is usually made with fresh corn and tomatoes, flavored with tasso or bacon, but you can enjoy it any time of the year by "faking" the fresh corn milk obtained from scraping the fresh cobs with a combination of broth and pureed frozen white corn kernels. Thus our "desperized" secret for Maque Choux!
Most of the cooking time required is for chopping vegetables, but you can chop and refrigerate the veggies for up to 48 hours beforehand if need be. One final note: Don't be intimidated by making the roux. This is a stew after all, and so by definition, it's way flexible. The stew is delicious with all of the traditional flavor even if your roux isn't precise.
Maque Choux is filling enough for a main dish, but it is traditionally served as side dish and makes a beautiful accompaniment to roasted chicken, pork or fish. For another easy Cajun recipe with corn, check our Web site at for a Cajun Corn Chowder.
Menu suggestion: Faux Maque Choux (Cajun Corn and Tomato Stew)
Rotisserie chicken
Frozen biscuits
FAUX MAQUE CHOUX
(Cajun Corn and Tomato Stew)
Start to finish: 25 minutes
1 tablespoon butter
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
4 slices already cooked bacon, finely chopped
1/2 cup onion, finely diced
1/2 cup celery, finely diced
2/3 cup green pepper, finely diced
1 cup frozen white corn kernels
1 cup fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) petite-diced tomatoes
tag heuer replica3 cups frozen yellow corn kernels
2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or more to taste
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
Cook's note: For an even spicier dish, add Tabasco sauce to taste. Leftovers are delicious refrigerated for up to five days.
In a 3-quart or larger pot with a lid, heat the butter and oil over medium heat. Add the bacon, onion, celery and green pepper. Stirring occasionally, cook until the vegetables
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