Andouille Makes It Cajun

Andouille, Louisiana’s beloved spicy smoked sausage, is as essential to Cajun cooking as chorizo is to Mexican cooking.

I especially like andouille in dishes to which I’d ordinarily add half a dozen spices; the sausage does it all. For example, Creole sauce, a well-simmered blend of onions, bell peppers and celery, gets a bite when a little andouille sausage is mixed in. This recipe for shrimp and andouille sausage over linguine is one of my favorite ways to showcase the sausage.

Follow this heady entree with the sweet, refreshing flavor of anise in an orange, fennel and olive salad. Choose firm, white fennel bulbs and trim off the stem end and fern-like leaves. Then thinly slice the bulb and separate into sections. If you’ve never worked with fresh fennel, this salad is a delicious introduction.

SHRIMP AND ANDOUILLE SAUSAGE OVER LINGUINE

Andouille sausage is sold in most gourmet food stores, butcher shops and major supermarkets.

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1 small onion, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

1 small green bell pepper, diced

1/4 pound andouille sausage, sliced 1/4-inch thick

1/4 cup dry red wine

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 cup canned crushed tomatoes

1/2 pound peeled shrimp, deveined

1/4 cup chopped basil

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 pound cooked linguine

Heat oil in medium skillet and saute garlic, onion, celery and bell pepper until tender, about 5 minutes. Add sausage and cook until browned, about 2 minutes. Stir in wine and scrape up any browned bits in skillet.

Add tomato paste and tomatoes and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in shrimp and basil and simmer, stirring gently, until shrimp are cooked through, about 5 minutes. Stir in lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste and red pepper flakes and simmer 1 minute. Stir in cooked linguine and toss gently but well. Serve hot.

2 servings. Each serving:

849 calories; 991 mg sodium; 201 mg cholesterol; 24 grams fat; 103 grams carbohydrates; 49 grams protein; 1.64 grams fiber,

ORANGE, FENNEL AND OLIVE SALAD

Use a mild olive oil that won’t overpower the other ingredients.

1 orange, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces

1 small fennel bulb, thinly sliced into bite-size pieces

2 ounces black olives (Greek or Nicoise)

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon minced parsley

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Lettuce

Combine orange, fennel and olives in medium bowl.

Combine lemon juice, olive oil, parsley and salt and pepper to taste in small bowl. Stir well and pour over orange mixture. Toss gently but well.

Line 2 salad plates with lettuce and divide salad between plates.

2 servings. Each serving:

292 calories; 1,106 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 24 grams fat; 20 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams protein; 1.43 grams fiber.