Everyone knows that the city of New Orleans is the country’s foodie capital. From classic beignets to head-spinning hurricanes (the drinks, of course), the city has the food game on lock. So who better to show off the soul and flavor of Crescent City than the ‘Queen of Bounce’ herself Big Freedia!?
The NOLA native hit up the ESSENCE Eats stage Friday at this year’s Essence Festival to whip up one of her go-to comfort foods: Booty Popping Potatoes.
“I grew up on this. This was something my mother made when money was tight or when she came home from those late nights working,” she told the crowd. “And it’s simple and you can stretch this far, so save your coins baby!”
In between whipping up flavor, Big Freedia also took a moment to serve up a quick bounce lesson for the crowd along with dish on her new collaboration with iconic ice cream maker Ben & Jerry’s. The proceeds from her limited edition flavor, Big Booty Beignets, which is a chocolate ice cream with a bourbon caramel swirl and beignet bites, will help children in the arts and benefit No Kid Hungry LA, Liberty’s Kitchen and Upturn Arts.
If you want to pop your booty like Big Freedia and get a taste of New Orleans, check out her Booty Popping Potatoes’ recipe below:
INGREDIENTS:
1 lb of Idaho or Russet Potatoes peeled cut into circular shapes or 1/2 inch chunks
1 lb of smoked sausage (whatever kind you like)
2 chopped onions (or green onions)
Dry seasoning (Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning)
A handful of fresh Italian Parsley
1 stick of butter
1/2 cup of water
DIRECTIONS:
Melt butter in pan. Add onions, sausage, parsley, and teaspoons of dry seasoning to taste. Simmer for seven minutes, then add potatoes and water. Simmer for 20 minutes. Serve and bounce!