Wednesday Word is étouffée
Étouffée [ay-two-FAY]
There are lots of cross-over words in the culinary world in which one culture and language borrows from another. Satay (or sate), the southeast Asian dish of marinated and grilled cubes of meat, can be traced to French colonial influence. Think of the French term sauté, the culinary technique of quick frying in oil.
An étouffée is a Cajun dish, a thick and spicy stew that features crayfish (or crawdaddies) and some veg served over rice. The dark colour of the comes from a traditional Cajun and low-country technique using a dark brown roux.
The word itself comes from the French, needless to say, “étouffer,” to smother. The term encapsulates the process of cooking ingredients in a fairly small amount of liquid in a tightly covered cooking vessel over low heat.
You can find the dish, on occasion, at restaurants such as Grand Trunk Saloon and The Lancaster Smokehouse.
