Babette de Rozières knows Creole cuisine.  Babette was born in the Caribbean and taught the essentials of cooking by her grandmother in her home town of Guadeloupe.  Fast forward to today where she is a well-known celebrity chef in France that serves her home town inspired dishes in her restaurant The Table of Babettte.  Now, she shares her favorite recipes in her first North American targeted cookbook - Creole.  The recipes range from a large number of fish and shellfish recipes to meat, poultry, vegetable and even desserts and drinks.  The recipes are enticing and often exotic with titles such as Creole paella, Conch ravioli with a crab and lemongrass sauce, and West Indian-style tripe. And if you like to see what you’ll be making then you’ll be happy that all of the recipes have gorgeous enticing photos of the prepared dishes.  For an example of Babette’s recipes, try out the recipe for Spicy Parcels below which creates great little phyllo dough wrapped parcels of shrimp and vegetables tied with scallion ‘strings’! 

Spicy Parcels

Recipe from Creole by Babette de Rozières, published by Phaidon Press, 2007, www.phaidon.com

Serves 4

Prep: 15 minutes

Cook: 10 minutes

Bake: 10 minutes

• 16 Dublin Bay Prawns (if unavailable, substitute jumbo shrimp)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus additional for brushing
• 10 basil leaves, finely chipped
• 1 sprig flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1 zucchini, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• ¼ bird’s-eye chile, finely chopped (if unavailable, substitute piquin or Serrano chile
• salt and black pepper
• 4 sheets phyllo dough
• 1 scallion, quartered lengthwise, blanched, for tying bundles

Preheat oven to 400°F.  Shell and devein the prawns, removing the heads, and coarsely chop them.  Set aside. 

Heat the olive oil in a skillet or frying pan over low heat and gently fry the herbs, shallot and garlic without letting them brown.  Add the prawns, zucchini, red bell pepper and chile.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Cook for 5 minutes. 

Brush each sheet of phyllo with oil and fold into a 6-inch square; place 1 tablespoon of filling at the center of each square.  Fold up the edges of the pastry and gather together at the top.  If desired, wrap and tie the bundles close with blanched scallion ‘strings.’  Bake for 10 minutes.  Serve hot. 

About Creole

CREOLE contains 160 tasty and quick-to-prepare dishes that reflect the cultures of the many different nations and continents that have influenced Creole cooing, including Spain, France, India, and Africa, among others. It is written by a true authority on Creole cooking, the original fusion cuisine of the West Indies. Every recipe is illustrated with a specially commissioned photograph, combined with images that evoke the landscape, colors, and people of the Caribbean.

Available at Amazon.com