Cajun Vegetables at Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen by Ruth Paget
Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen is most famous for its deep-fried chicken sandwich combination meals, but I sometimes like going to Popeye’s for a spicy Cajun vegetable meal.
Louisiana vegetable sides often feature an addition of spicy andouille sausage, whose ancestor is a mild andouille sausage from France. Andouille sausage from Louisiana is made with pork butt, garlic, salt, black pepper, and spicy cayenne pepper according to the Taste of Artisan website.
This type of andouille sausage is added to a sauté of onions, green bell pepper, celery, tomato paste, garlic, cooked red beans, chicken stock and hot sauce to make a stew according to the Damn Delicious website. Once the stew is cooked, these beans are served alongside cooked white rice.
Red beans and rice is a Cajun comfort food from the Louisiana countryside. I like to order it with a chilled coleslaw, a chopped salad made with cabbage, carrots, and onions with a cream dressing.
Popeye’s also offers Cajun fries with cayenne-heavy Cajun seasoning and mashed potatoes with spicy Cajun gravy.
Monterey County does not have a Popeye’s as of August 2024, but there are two locations within the Congressional district:
-Watsonville Auto Mall outside Santa Cruz
-Gilroy Cross Mall by Barnes and Noble outside San Jose
I like exotic fast food at a reasonable price, and Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen is just perfect for this.
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
