Natchitoches Meat Pie - a weekend recipe

Natchitoches is the oldest continuous settlement in Louisiana, and that includes New Orleans. Located on the Cane River, this scenic and interesting town was the location for the movie Steel Magnolias. With a diverse cultural history, that includes French, Spanish, English, African and American Indian heritage, this sleepy community is like no other. Here is the original recipe for the world famous Natchitoches meat pie. Don’t change it or it will no longer be a Natchitoches Meat Pie.

Ingredients: Meat Filling

• ½ lb. ground chuck
• 1 ½ lb. ground pork (not sausage)
• 2 tsp. flour
• 1 tsp. shortening
• 2 onions, large
• 6 scallions, small
• 3 tbsp. parsley (chopped, very fine)
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 dash cayenne pepper

Ingredients: Pie Crust

• 4 cups flour
• 2 eggs, large
• ½ cup melted shortening, preferably lard
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 tbsp. baking soda
• small amount of milk

Directions

Make the meat filling first. Meat should be ground twice and then run through a sieve. The idea is for the meat to be as smooth and uniform as possible. Brown the meat in a heavy iron skillet, pouring off any fat that accumulates.

Make a roux of the flour, shortening, onions, parsley, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Combine meat and roux thoroughly. Set aside for cooling.

Begin the pastry and DO NOT use cooking oil instead of lard. Sift flour. Add baking powder, lard, eggs and enough milk to make a stiff dough. Roll until very thin. Cut circles about the size of a coffee cup saucer from the dough. Fill with meat mixture and fold over. Moisten with water around edges and crimp with a fork. Poke a couple of holes in each pie (so they don’t explode!) and then deep fry until golden brown. You are in for a treat, so enjoy.

Eric'sWeb

Lily's Chicken Sauce Piquante - a weekend recipe

A certain spicy stew is a cooking staple in south Louisiana. Sauce piquante was introduced to Louisiana by the Spanish. It has been embraced by Cajun chefs and has evolved into nearly as many differing recipes as there are cooks.

The dish begins with a roux, combined with the sauce and almost any meat you can think of. In Louisiana, there is chicken, pork, wild duck, turtle and even alligator sauce piquante. Here is one of my ex-mother-in-law Lily's version.

Chicken Sauce Piquante

Ingredients

1 chicken, cut up
¼ cup chopped shallots
½ cup cooking oil
2 8oz. cans tomato sauce
½ cup flour
1 cup water
2 large onions, chopped
1 cup Burgundy
4 garlic cloves, chopped
¼ cup chopped parsley
1 medium bell pepper
Salt, pepper and hot sauce to taste

Preparation

Make roux with cooking oil and flour, stirring constantly until medium brown. Add onions, garlic, bell pepper and shallots. Sauté until onions are clear. Add chicken, tomato sauce, water, Burgundy, parsley and seasoning. Cover and cook over medium heat for 30 minutes (stirring occasionally) or until sauce begins to thicken. Serve over rice. Serves six.

Eric'sWeb