Most Americans refer to the local administration as a County, each with its own County Seat. Only two states are not divided into counties. There are jurisdictional lines alright, but these lines aren’t called county lines. In Alaska there are different Boroughs. While Louisiana uses the term Parish.
Why Parish? For someone who grew up in a country so big on separation of Church and State, to use a term so familiar and connected to the Church as “parish“ seemed out of place. Since Louisiana is one of the states we will visit on our massively insane 17-day cross-country road trip, I thought it might be fun to find out why.
Turns out Louisiana’s long relationship to the Roman Catholic Church is the biggest reason. From 1682 to 1762 the immense region then called Louisiana was held by France, part of its North American possessions known as New France. At that time settlers from France were Catholic. In 1762 France ceded colonial Louisiana west of the Mississippi River and all of New Orleans to Spain. Like France, Spain’s people have a long history with the Church. France was the first to set up districts in Louisiana and refer to them as Parishes. When Spain took over, Parish was an acceptable term, so it stuck.
When Louisiana gained statehood in 1812, the term Parish for an administrative unit had been in place for 5 years, having been approved by the territorial legislature. At that time there were some 25 parishes in Louisiana. Once statehood had been granted, the new state legislation took it upon themselves to consolidate much of the smaller areas into larger ones, creating 12 counties to replace the 25 parishes. This did not sit well with long time residences. To them counties were merely electoral districts that lacked any local administrative power. More importantly, county sounded like a term one would use to give power over to the incoming Anglo-Protestant Americans. This created instability and tension, especially in the predominately Catholic parts of the state where folks had dug in their heels. Finally in 1845 counties in the state of Louisiana were abolished in favor of the term Parishes. At present there are some 64 Parishes statewide.
Louisiana is a gulf state. What better way to acknowledge its rich connection to its Catholic roots than to make some amazingly fitting No Meat on Friday Supper. Enjoy and remember, you don’t need to be Catholic to appreciate a delicious supper centered around Spicy Gulf Shrimp.
Gulf Coast Shrimp Burritos with Black Bean Salsa and Peppered Rice
Black Bean Salsa
2 Roma Tomatoes
1 Fresno Pepper
2 Green Onions
1 (4 oz) can Hatch Green Chilies
1 Garlic Cloves
Salt to taste
3/4 cup Black Beans
1/2 cup Cilantro
Seed and dice tomatoes. Stem, dice Fresno Pepper. Place in a bowl. Trim green onions, slice and add to the tomato-pepper. Add the Hatch Green Chilies. Peel garlic, press into the salsa mixture. Season to taste with salt. Drain black beans, add to the salsa.
Coarsely chop cilantro, scatter over the black bean salsa, then stir to combine everything together. Let marinate 30 minutes before serving.
Peppered Rice
2 tablespoons Butter
1 Red Bell Pepper
1/2 Yellow Onion
2 Garlic Cloves
2-1/2 teaspoons Cumin
Black Pepper to taste
1-1/2 cups White Rice
2-1/2 cups Chicken Stock
Stem, seed and finely dice the bell pepper. Cut onion in half from root to tip. Reserve half for another purpose, dice remaining half. Peel and mince garlic. Set aside.
Melt butter in a large saucepan. Add bell pepper and onion; cook until the onion is soft. Stir in garlic, cumin, black pepper and the rice. Toast for just a minute or two.
Add chicken stock. Cover and steam for 15 minutes undisturbed. Stir, continue to cook until rice is tender and most of the liquid has evaporated.
Gulf Shrimp Burritos
1 lb (16 count) large Shrimp
Pinch Cayenne Pepper
Tajin Seasoning to taste
Spicy Olive Oil
4 Jumbo Flour Tortillas
4 Red Leaf Lettuce Leaves
Sour Cream to taste
Peel, devein and butterfly shrimp. Season with just a pinch of cayenne pepper and a sprinkling of Tajin Seasoning. Sauté shrimp in a skillet with a little spicy olive oil until pink, about 5 minutes, turning as needed.
While the shrimp cooks, warm tortillas and wrap in foil to keep warm. Stack lettuce leaves, roll tightly and shred. Set aside until ready to assemble.
To Assemble: Spread rice down the center of each warm tortilla, allowing about an inch edge on the bottom end. Top with shrimp and a scattering of salsa. Fold and roll tortilla up around the filling.
Plate burritos. Spoon salsa over the center of the burritos, garnish a dollop of sour cream. Garnis the plate with shredded lettuce; serve with a knife and fork.
Blessed are the poor in spirit;
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
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