Color Focus - Local Cuisine
Ville des Marais is known for having rich and tasty food that is enjoyed by one and all throughout the city. Multiple restaurants and eateries throughout the city offer a variety of choices, and even though the prices depend on where you are in the city and the reputation of the establishment, the food tends to be fantastic no matter where you go. Here are some of the more common dishes.
Gumbo
Gumbo is a hearty stew popular in the area. Gumbo consists primarily of a strongly flavored stock, meat or shellfish (or sometimes both), a thickener, and the Creole "family" ― celery, bell peppers, and onions. Gumbo is often categorized by the type of thickener used and whether okra or filé powder (dried and ground sassafras leaves) is added.
Gumbo can be made with or without okra or filé powder. The preferred method is with a dark even chocolate-like roux. The flavor of the dish has its origins in many cultures. Creole gumbo generally contains shellfish, and a dark roux, filé, or both. Tomatoes are occasionally found in Creole gumbo and frequently appear in Ville des Marais cuisine but many gumbo cooks believe that tomatoes should never be used in gumbo. Cajun gumbo is generally based on a dark roux and is made with shellfish or fowl. Sausage or ham is often added to gumbos of either variety. After the base is prepared, vegetables are cooked down, and then meat is added. The dish simmers for a minimum of three hours, with shellfish and some spices added near the end. If desired, filé powder is added after the pot is removed from heat. Gumbo is traditionally served with rice. A third, lesser-known variety, the meatless gumbo z'herbes, is essentially a gumbo of slow-cooked greens and is a favorite among the elves of the city.
 |
| Gumbo |
Crawfish Étouffée
Étouffée is a dish found in both Cajun and Creole cuisine typically served with shellfish over rice. The dish employs a technique known as smothering, a popular method of cooking in the Cajun and Creole areas of the area.
Étouffée is a dish of shellfish, simmered in a sauce made from a light or blond roux, served over rice. It is most commonly made with shellfish, such as crab or shrimp. The most popular version of the dish is made with crawfish. Depending on who is making it and where it is being made it is flavored with either Creole or Cajun seasonings. Although Creole and Cajun cuisines are distinct, there are many similarities.
In the case of the Creole version of crawfish étouffée, it is made with a blond or brown roux and sometimes tomatoes are added. A blond roux is one that is cooked, stirring constantly, for approximately 5 minutes to remove the "raw" flavor of the flour and to add a slightly "nutty" flavor, while a brown roux is cooked longer (30 to 35 minutes) in order to deepen the color and flavor.
 |
| Crawfish Étouffée |
Jambalaya
Jambalaya is a Creole and Cajun rice dish of a variety of cultural influences, consisting mainly of meat and vegetables mixed with rice. Fights have actually broken out in the past, caused by disagreements in the best method of preparation.
Traditionally, the meat includes sausage of some sort, often a smoked meat such as andouille, along with pork or chicken and seafood (less common), such as crawfish or shrimp. The vegetables are usually a sofrito-like mixture known as the "family" in Cajun cooking, consisting of onion, celery, and green bell pepper, though other vegetables such as okra, carrots, tomatoes, corn, chilis and garlic are also used.
After browning and sautéing the meat and vegetables, rice is added with seasonings and broth, and the entire dish is cooked together until the rice is done.
 |
| Jambalaya |
Red Beans and Rice
The city inhabitants took the work week’s start and turned drudgery into delicious. Red beans and rice – traditionally simmered all day while the household catches up on laundry duties – is as common a pairing here as bacon and eggs are anywhere else.
The key to its success is its flexibility and ease of preparation. Practically any meat, from ham hock to sausage to pickled pork, is placed in the pot along with red or kidney beans and spices like bay leaves, thyme cayenne pepper and sage and set to simmer for 2-6 hours. Every family has got a favorite variation, and many of the city’s best restaurants keep it on their menu.
 |
| Red beans and rice |
Aeso icoe
Ville des Marais has a sizable elvish population, and their additions to the city cuisine have not gone unnoticed. One dish that is becoming popular is aeso icoe (earth food in common), and unlike almost all other dishes in the city is usually served vegan in nature.
Aeso icoe is made of lentils, potatoes, carrots, tomatoes and chives. Thanks to both Creole and Cajun influence, paprika is often added as well, which creates an exceptionally unusual taste variant with this hearty stew. Some human restaurants will add meat, such as andouille sausage, to the stew but this is seen as being nearly blasphemous to any elves that see it being served in that fashion.
Warm, crusty bread is often served with aeso icoe, and a unique trend has actually begun in the city, thanks to the dual industrious and lazy nature of those living there. The stew can be served in a bread bowl, which is a round loaf of bread which has had the top cut off and a large portion of the middle hollowed out to create an edible bowl. They are typically larger than a roll but smaller than a full sized loaf of bread.
 |
| Aeso icoe prepared in a traditional manner |
Hjodlik
Not to be left out, the dwarves that live in Ville des Marais have shared a dish that they commonly serve, hjodlik (stone soup in common). Initially balked at by anyone that learns the name in common, the soup is very slowly gaining traction in the city's cuisine.
The stew is usually made with mushrooms, cave nettles, potatoes, carrots, albino cave peas, snail meat and... rocks. Usually pumice and scoria, the rocks are placed into the stew and absorb the flavors of the meal, holding them for a considerable length of time. Although they are sometimes crushed by the diner and eaten with the rest of the stew, these rocks are usually taken and saved for later, sucked on until they no longer have any flavor beyond the regular flavor of the stones.
Recently beef has been started to be added to the hjodlik, and this helps the flavor significantly. As dwarves generally don't have access to cows, this is a variant called hjodvak and is usually created with meat from a darkmantle. As darkmantle meat goes bad very quickly this meal is rarely served, but substituting beef for darkmantle (the two taste remarkably similar), it generally lasts longer.
Beignet
The beignet is a type of fritter, or deep-fried pastry, possibly made from pâte à choux and called pets-de-nonne, which means "nun's fart" in Franche, but may also be made from other types of dough, including yeast dough. In the city there are at least 20 different versions. They can vary in shape, the flour used for the dough, and the filling.
Beignets are square or rectangular fried pastries made from leavened dough rather than choux pastry. In Ville des Marais, they are best known as a breakfast served with powdered sugar on top. They are traditionally prepared to be eaten fresh and hot, straight from the ovens. Variations of fried dough can be found across the various cuisines; however, the origin of the term beignet is specifically of Franche Creole origin.
 |
| Beignets |