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Maque choux is a vegetable side dish popular in southern Louisiana, made with corn, onions, green pepper, and tomatoes. Its origins are unclear, but it may have been influenced by Cajun French and Native American cuisines. The recipe has evolved over time, with variations including the addition of cream or meat.
Choux maque, pronounced fake shoe, is a vegetable side dish popular in the southern region of the United States, particularly among residents of southern Louisiana. Ingredients commonly include corn, onions, green pepper, and tomatoes. Some recipes call for the addition of garlic and celery. All ingredients are normally braised until softened and then hot sauce or cayenne pepper is added to bring out the flavors of the vegetables.
The origins of the term are not clearly defined. The phrase can be traced back to Cajun French and may have been influenced by the word machica, which is a Spanish term for a traditional roasted cornmeal dish. Other sources cite the Cajun French word maigrchou, meaning skinny child, as the root of the term, based on a choux variation of maque that is commonly diluted with milk or cream and resembles a soup. Another possible origin of the phrase is moque-chou, which when translated from the French language means mock cabbage, indicating that cabbage may have once been included in the recipe.
Some food historians attribute the dish’s origin to the combined cuisines of the Acadian French, who today are generally referred to as Cajuns and Native Americans. When Acadians immigrated from the eastern Canadian province of Nova Scotia to Louisiana, Native Americans introduced them to corn. Corn soon became a main ingredient in other local dishes and was often included in lobster boils. The term is often thought to have been the French interpretation of a Native American word.
The basic maque choux recipe has remained fairly stable over the years. A number of earlier versions of the recipe directed the cook to scrape the corn kernels off the cob and then scrape the cob again. This method released the natural “milk” from the kernels and cob and added the silkiness to the final dish.
Later recipes omitted these instructions and suggested using one can of regular corn and one can of creamed corn for the recipe. Other versions of recipes for maque choux recommend adding cream or half-and-half to the vegetable mixture to bring out its richness. Lighter recipes often called for adding a pat of butter to the dish before serving.
To make maque choux into a main dish, some cooks add meat, poultry or seafood. In Louisiana, shrimp or prawns are popular additions. Other common extras include chicken, beef or pork. Leftover vegetable choux is often added to cornbread for added texture.
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