All Hands on Deck: Steph de Sousa’s Cajun Seafood Boil Recipe

Cajun Seafood Boil recipe

Bursting with bold Cajun flavours, this buttery one-pot seafood wonder will make a memorable meal on any camping holiday.

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

25 mins

Total Time

40 mins

Serves

4

Ingredients

• 2 chorizo sausages, chopped into small pieces
• 1 large red onion, diced
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 celery stalk, diced
• 1 tbsp Cajun seasoning
• 1 litre chicken stock
• 2 cups water
• 1kg baby red potatoes, whole or cut as you prefer
• 4 corncobs, halved
• 40 medium green king prawns, shells on
• 2kg black mussels, cleaned
• 200g butter, chopped
• Fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped, to serve
• Glug of olive oil
• 1 roll aluminium foil

Method

Step 1

Heat a little olive oil in a large pot on your single burner, and cook your chorizo, onion, carrot, celery and Cajun seasoning on high heat for about 5 minutes or until the veggies start to caramelise. This will add an extra depth of flavour to your boil!

Step 2

Pour in the chicken stock and add the 2 cups of water. Add your baby red potatoes and bring it all to a boil. Let it cook for 10 minutes.

Step 3

Add your corncobs and cook for another 5 minutes.

Step 4

Now it’s time to toss in the prawns and mussels. Cook for around 5 minutes or until the prawns turn pink and the mussels open up.

Step 5

Drain off the broth, then add the butter and parsley. Let it sit for a minute until the butter melts into everything.

Step 6

Now here comes the best part: cover your table with foil and dump that delicious Cajun seafood boil straight onto the table. No plates needed – just gather around and enjoy with your fingers! But you can always use plates and cutlery if you prefer.

It’s all about the hands-on experience

This communal seafood spread is as much about the experience as it is about the taste, says mother of four, Steph de Sousa. 

“Maybe it’s just me, but seafood always tastes even better by the sea,” she says.  

“I love camping near the beach; it’s my favourite camping spot because we never lived close to the water as kids. I grew up on horse studs and farms; jumping from hay bales in the barn and picking raspberries.” 

“We were a caravan family,” adds the former MasterChef Australia contestant.  

“Then, when my own kids were small, we were tent dwellers. Now my old body loves a glamping set up with a soft bed and my own bathroom,” she laughs.  

Steph has included the Cajun Seafood Boil recipe dinner in her Single Burner camping recipe series because it reminds her of happy family meals when her children were small. So, she knows it’ll be ideal for other families who like to get away in the caravan or camper trailer. 

“We would have what we called a ‘picky dinner’,” she explains. “I would basically plonk a big platter of food in the middle of the table and we would just gather round, eating with our hands, chatting. 

“Not only is this one of the most fun ways you can feed your lot on a camping holiday, there are no dirty plates or cutlery to deal with, so cleaning up is a breeze. Just make sure you have plenty of serviettes on hand!” 

Thanks to Good & Fugly for providing fresh produce. They’re a supplier that champions local farmers, embraces perfectly imperfect but delicious food for significantly less ... and it lasts ... ideal for your camping trip!

FAQs

Steph de Sousa answers your frequently asked Cajun cooking questions.