I absolutely love the big, bold flavours in this dish. This recipe uses alligator, which is as common in Louisiana as pork chops are in Britain, but you’ll get equally amazing results using chicken breast, pork loin or even prawns. The marinade has real attitude, and the fresh zingy salsa goes so well with it. If you’ve got time, it’s nice to leave your meat marinating overnight, but it will still be delicious if you only marinate for 30 minutes. If you can’t get hold of green tomatoes for your salsa, use a couple of extra red ones instead. Just be sure to deseed them first or the salsa will be too wet.
My Cajun mate, Dave Allemande, who runs the McGee’s Landing restaurant in Henderson, adds creole mustard to his marinade because he says it “makes the flavours sing”. Creole mustard is similar to wholegrain french mustard and adds a really nice heat. After trying Dave’s wonderful food, I’m not going to argue with him.
Serves 4
750g chicken breasts, pork loin or alligator tail (if you can find it), cut into 1cm-thick slices
4 sweet potatoes (about 200g each), wrapped in foil
For the cajun marinade
1 level tsp cayenne pepper
1 level tsp paprika
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 small bunch of fresh oregano, leaves picked
1 small bunch of fresh thyme, leaves picked
1 fresh bay leaf, spine removed, torn into pieces
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp wholegrain mustard
For the salsa
3 spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped
½ fresh red chilli, or to taste, deseeded and finely chopped
2 green tomatoes, finely chopped
1 red tomato, deseeded and finely chopped
1 small bunch of fresh curly parsley, finely chopped
2 tbsp cider vinegar
6 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Get started by making your marinade. Whack the cayenne, paprika and a pinch each of salt and pepper into a pestle and mortar with the fresh herbs and grind them together. Add your garlic, olive oil and mustard and grind again — the oil will help all the flavours come out. When you’ve got a thick, treacly paste, transfer it to a large bowl and toss your pieces of meat in it until they are completely coated. Cover with clingfilm, then pop the bowl into the fridge and leave for at least 20-30 minutes or, if you really want those flavours to do their work, for a few hours or even overnight.
Heat your oven to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6 and pop in your foil-wrapped sweet potatoes to roast for about 1 hour. When they’re nearly ready, make your salsa. It’s lovely and fresh, with the right amount of heat, crunch, herbiness, acid and salt to bring it all to life. Put all your salsa ingredients into a bowl, with a good pinch of sea salt to bring out the flavour of the tomatoes. Give it all a good mix.
When the sweet potatoes are ready, take them out of the oven but leave them in the foil so they stay warm. Put a large pan or wok on a high heat and get it screaming hot. Quickly but carefully add your marinated meat and let it cook for a few minutes on each side so it gets some nice colour.
Unwrap your sweet potatoes and put them on plates. Score them down the middle, then gently squeeze them so they pucker up. Serve your lovely cooked meat on top, and cover with a few spoonfuls of fresh salsa. And that’s it — beautiful meat, soft sweet potatoes and fresh lively salsa.
My Cajun mate, Dave Allemande, who runs the McGee’s Landing restaurant in Henderson, adds creole mustard to his marinade because he says it “makes the flavours sing”. Creole mustard is similar to wholegrain french mustard and adds a really nice heat. After trying Dave’s wonderful food, I’m not going to argue with him.
Serves 4
750g chicken breasts, pork loin or alligator tail (if you can find it), cut into 1cm-thick slices
4 sweet potatoes (about 200g each), wrapped in foil
For the cajun marinade
1 level tsp cayenne pepper
1 level tsp paprika
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 small bunch of fresh oregano, leaves picked
1 small bunch of fresh thyme, leaves picked
1 fresh bay leaf, spine removed, torn into pieces
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp wholegrain mustard
For the salsa
3 spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped
½ fresh red chilli, or to taste, deseeded and finely chopped
2 green tomatoes, finely chopped
1 red tomato, deseeded and finely chopped
1 small bunch of fresh curly parsley, finely chopped
2 tbsp cider vinegar
6 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Get started by making your marinade. Whack the cayenne, paprika and a pinch each of salt and pepper into a pestle and mortar with the fresh herbs and grind them together. Add your garlic, olive oil and mustard and grind again — the oil will help all the flavours come out. When you’ve got a thick, treacly paste, transfer it to a large bowl and toss your pieces of meat in it until they are completely coated. Cover with clingfilm, then pop the bowl into the fridge and leave for at least 20-30 minutes or, if you really want those flavours to do their work, for a few hours or even overnight.
Heat your oven to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6 and pop in your foil-wrapped sweet potatoes to roast for about 1 hour. When they’re nearly ready, make your salsa. It’s lovely and fresh, with the right amount of heat, crunch, herbiness, acid and salt to bring it all to life. Put all your salsa ingredients into a bowl, with a good pinch of sea salt to bring out the flavour of the tomatoes. Give it all a good mix.
When the sweet potatoes are ready, take them out of the oven but leave them in the foil so they stay warm. Put a large pan or wok on a high heat and get it screaming hot. Quickly but carefully add your marinated meat and let it cook for a few minutes on each side so it gets some nice colour.
Unwrap your sweet potatoes and put them on plates. Score them down the middle, then gently squeeze them so they pucker up. Serve your lovely cooked meat on top, and cover with a few spoonfuls of fresh salsa. And that’s it — beautiful meat, soft sweet potatoes and fresh lively salsa.