I have this tried-and-true dish I’ve made for a long time.
Sauté veggies, in this case equal sliced red onion, Napa cabbage, radicchio and spinach in olive oil for a couple of minutes, always add dry white wine, capers, shiitake mushrooms and a little chicken broth, use any kind of fish, always sliced lemon and serve over rice or in this case couscous. Steam until the fish is cooked.
It always works. I used Pollock filet here and sprinkled a dash of turmeric on top.
This recipe is many years in the making taking from several recipes of famous restaurants in New Orleans. I call it a New Orleans style b/c I deviate a little in certain places with the meat. The dish usually requires ham hock and salt pork, and with Cajuns maybe even Cajun tasso ham. Instead I use a pork shoulder and cut away as much fat as I can. I use Andouille sausage which has its own level of cayenne pepper so I don’t add anymore. This recipe has a bus load of flavor.
Traditionally, New Orleanians eat this dish pretty much every Monday. So typically it is made with the cheapest most flavorful pork meats or pork bones from leftovers but more meat such as sausage appear in it as a highlight. The center flavor starts with bell pepper, onion, and celery as do most Creole dishes like Gumbo and Jambalaya.
• 1 Lb. red beans soaked in water for 16 hours.
• 1 Lb. of pork shoulder (fat cut away) (cut into small pieces)
• 1 half stick of Andouille Sausage (cut into 1 inch pieces)
• 1 Bottle of local brew (I used Potosi Ale Red Label, local in Wisconsin not far – 2 cups)
• 1 cup chopped onion
• ½ green bell pepper chopped
• 1 celery stalk chopped
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• ½ tsp dried parsley
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf cut in two
• ½ tsp black pepper
• ½ tsp white pepper
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 TBSP Worcestershire
• 3 cups chicken stock
• Extra chicken stock if needed as you cook
Add all ingredients to the pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a slight simmer 3 hours. Check every hour and adjust as you go. By the time it finishes cooking most of the liquid stock should have evaporated. Cool, Refrigerate. Serve the next day.
For you Vegans: Instead of pork, make sure you add 3 TBSP olive oil or a garlic olive oil prep. (Heat olive oil and garlic together) Also, just use water and no stock. I wouldn’t use a veggie stock b/c the New Orleans affect is centered around the onion, green bell and celery. That trio is called a New Orleans Mirepoix or in the New Orleans colloquial a Trinity.
Also, New Orleans is pronounced NuWaLens, or NewOrLens, or NewOrlee-ins, not Nu Orleens. If you travel to San Francisco and call it Frisco, you will get corrected! It’s San-Fran-cis-co.
This is nothing short of spectacular.
Ingredients:
• 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• Several fresh basil leaves
• ½ cup chopped green onions
• 4 tomatoes peeled and sliced
• 1 – 9” deep dish pie crust
• 1 garlic clove chopped
• 1 ¼ slice of black forest ham, browned on both sides and cut into pieces
• Salt pepper
Preheat oven to 350ᵒ
Mix cheeses and mayo with salt and pepper in a bowl
In the pie crust layer first the ham, garlic, green onions, tomatoes, basil and then the cheeses mixture.
Bake 30 minutes
Serve
• Frozen flounder
• Sour cream
• Salsa
• Avocado (cut into quarters)
• Lime (Cut into quarters and squeezed onto taco)
• Cilantro (chopped)
• Flour tortilla (Microwave on high for 50 seconds)
• Rub mix (paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, old bay, etc.)
Pour oil in baking pan and sprinkle the fish with the rub mix.
Heat oven to 425ᵒ, Cook fish until done (~8 minutes)
On a warn tortilla, apply sour cream, fish, salsa, avocado, cilantro and squeeze lime on top and roll in a burrito.
The object of this sauce is reduction. When the red wine and beef stock have reduced, then you will strain all the rosemary, peppercorns and shallots/onions. Return the sauce, and seasoning, thicken with corn starch and let cool. When you are ready to serve you can warm it a little. This sauce is ideal from preparing it in advance of plating.
2 TBSP Butter
3 Shallot, or ½ onion, chopped
1 sprig Fresh Rosemary
1 TBSP Peppercorns
1 ½ cup Cabernet Sauvignon or other dry red wine
1 ½ cup Beef Stock
2 TBSP Corn Starch
1 TBSP Worcestershire
