Maque Choux

Maque choux combines corn, red peppers, green peppers, and sweet onion in a creamy sauce to make a beautiful, colorful side dish that tastes amazing!

From Cooking with JB and Jamie

Maque Choux

Today’s recipe comes from Cooking with JB and Jamie, the cookbook from the famous Royers Roundtop Cafe in Round Top, Texas.

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Pronounced “mock shoe,” this Cajun dish is simple to make—but its origins are not quite so straightforward.

What Does Maque Choux Mean?

According to the Shreveport Times, there are no less than three theories on the origin of the phrase.

• Spanish settlers used the word machica for a dish of toasted cornmeal.
• Maigrchou, or “thin child” in French, for the practice of thinning the vegetable mixture with milk or cream.
• Moque-chou, or “mock cabbage,” possibly indicating that the original recipe included cabbage.

A 1984 letter to the New York Times doesn’t clear up the question, but it does offer a recipe from all the way back in 1967, in the out-of-print cookbook called Le Livre de la Cuisine de Lafayette.  Unlike the Royers Round Top recipe, it includes a substantial quantity of tomatoes.

Maque Choux vs Succotash

The Tallahassee Democrat describes maque choux as a Southern type of succotash.  Succotash is similar  in that it contains a mixture of vegetables, but it’s different because succotash typically contains legumes of some kind, whereas maque choux does not.

What to Serve with This Recipe

Maque choux can be served as a side dish with other Cajun or Southern dishes, like Creole Beef Tenderloin, Honey Cola Baked Ham, Shrimp and Grits, or Sweet Tea Brined Pork Tenderloin, or it can be elevated to a meal in itself by adding shrimp or sausage.

Be sure to check out Cooking with JB and Jamie for more Southern recipes with a Texas twist!

5 from 6 votes

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Maque Choux

This colorful Cajun side dish of corn, peppers, onion, and cream is always a huge hit at the Cajun Cooking Class held by Royers Round Top Cafe.

Course Side

Cuisine American, American Southern, Cajun, Southern

Keyword cajun, corn, side dish, southern

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Servings 6

Calories 159 kcal

Author Cooking with JB and Jamie

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 sweet onion chopped
• 1/2 green bell pepper chopped
• 1/2 red bell pepper chopped
• 1 tablespoon garlic minced
• 12 ounces frozen corn
• salt
• pepper
• pinch cayenne optional
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Instructions

1. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and bell peppers, cooking until onions are translucent.

2. Stir in garlic. Cook for additional minute.

3. Add corn. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add cayenne for a kick. Cook 1-2 minutes.

4. Pour in cream and bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Simmer until cream reduces and thickens slightly (approximately 5 minutes).

5. Pour into a serving dish. Garnish with red and green bell peppers.

Nutrition Facts

Maque Choux

Amount Per Serving

Calories 159 Calories from Fat 90

% Daily Value*

Fat 10g15%

Saturated Fat 5g31%

Polyunsaturated Fat 1g

Monounsaturated Fat 4g

Cholesterol 22mg7%

Sodium 11mg0%

Potassium 262mg7%

Carbohydrates 17g6%

Fiber 2g8%

Sugar 3g3%

Protein 3g6%

Vitamin A 641IU13%

Vitamin C 27mg33%

Calcium 25mg3%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

For more background information on this dish, you can watch a similar recipe prepared by Southern Foodways here.