Jessica's Maque Choux

My beautiful daughter-in-law, Jessica has graciously shared some of her recipes with me, and now I pass them on to you.

Maque Choux
(pronounced “mock shoe”)

A Cajun smothered corn dish cooked with tomatoes, onion and green pepper. It was more than likely derived from the Indians and the Cajun French trappers of south Louisiana.



8 medium ears of fresh corn ( or 1 lb frozen kernel corn ~4 cups)

1 lb tasso*, andouiille or spicy smoked sausage (use your favorite brand) chopped into bite sized pieces

1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)

1 small green bell pepper, chopped (1/2 cup)

2 tablespoons margarine or butter

1 medium tomato, cut up

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper (or to taste)

1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper (or to taste)

• Remove the husks from corn; scrub with a stiff brush to remove silks. Rinse.

• Use a sharp knife to remove corn from cobs, cutting two-thirds of the way to the cob. (picture courtesy of www.dkimages.com/.../Vegetables-062.html)
• Scrape the cobs with a dull edge of a knife. (should be about 4 cups)

• Brown tasso or sausage in a 3-quart saucepan. Remove and drain on paper towels.

• Add margarine or butter to the now empty pan and cook onion and green pepper about 5 minutes or until tender.

• Stir in corn, tomato, salt, black pepper, and red pepper.

• Cover and cook over low heat about 15 minutes or until corn is tender.

• Add tasso/sausage back to pan and cook approximately another 5 minutes.

• Season to taste.
  
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• Makes about 6 side dish servings.

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* Tasso Ham is a Cajun specialty - a lean piece of cured pork (usually shoulder) richly seasoned with red pepper, garlic, file powder and several other herbs and spices, and then smoked for two days. The result is a firm, smoky and flavorful meat largely used for seasoning.

Try this! You might even become an honorary Cajun!