Remoulade Sauce

 

Remoulade Sauce over boiled shrimp and fried green tomatoes.

Remoulade Sauce over boiled shrimp and fried green tomatoes.

 

Remoulade Sauce is another one of those charming Louisiana recipes that is never made the same way twice. The sauce originated in France as something similar to tartar sauce. Sauce is a French word meaning “a relish to make food more appetizing.” Such strategies were necessary for cooks before refrigeration. Remoulade—a mayonnaise-based sauce including anchovies, anchovy paste, mustard, capers and chopped pickles—hid the tainted flavor of spoiling meat, poultry and fish.

The Louisiana version is creamy, tart and spicy, quite different from the French version. According to the Culinary History Project at Tulane University, remoulade sauce was “changed and enhanced by Louisiana’s local ingredients” to become “almost indefinable.” In Louisiana, the sauce is traditionally served with seafood—shrimp, crab cakes, and fish—though one author recommends remoulade as a dipping sauce for fried dill pickles, which I love.

This recipe comes from our friend Emeril Lagasse via the Food Network. Please note: I did not have a food processor on hand. Nor did I have fresh parsley. I had green onions but nowhere near a half a cup. Verdict? This is such a rich sauce the results will be delicious, even if you have to short-change some of the ingredients.

Note: I put this remoulade sauce over fried green tomatoes and shrimp. To my palate, it tasted better with the shrimp than with the fried green tomatoes. Fried green tomatoes are tart. To make a remoulade sauce more suitable for them, I suggest adding a tablespoon or two of brown sugar.

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped green onions

2 tablespoons chopped garlic

2 tablespoons prepared horseradish

3 tablespoons Creole whole-grain mustard

3 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard

3 tablespoons ketchup

3 tablespoons chopped parsley leaves

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

STEP BY STEP:

  1. Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor.
  2. Process for 30 seconds.
  3. Voila!
  4. Use immediately or store in an airtight container. Remoulade sauce will keep for several days in the refrigerator.