½ cup all-purpose flour or prebrowned flour ([>])
2 cups chopped onions
1 cup chopped celery
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 bay leaf
¾ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon dried thyme
¼ teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon white pepper
¼ teaspoon cayenne
3 cups unsalted crawfish or other seafood stock
1 pound blanched crawfish tails
½ cup sliced green onions
1 tablespoon minced parsley
Cooked rice
Serves 4
In a cast-iron skillet, warm the oil and butter together over medium-high heat. Sprinkle in the flour, and stir constantly until the roux turns a deep chocolate-brown. (If you are using prebrowned flour, this process will take only about 3 minutes, saving you 30 to 35 minutes.) Add the onion, celery, bell pepper, garlic, bay leaf, salt, thyme, peppers, and cayenne, and remove the pan from the heat. Continue stirring until the sizzling stops.
Heat the stock in a large, heavy saucepan. Add spoonfuls of the roux-and-vegetable mixture to the stock, continuing to stir after each addition. When all the roux has been combined fully, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook for 20 minutes. The étouffée can be made ahead to this point and refrigerated, but rewarm it before continuing.
Add the crawfish tails, and simmer another 5 to 7 minutes, until the tails are cooked through.
Stir in the green onions and parsley, and remove the étouffée from the heat. Serve it immediately, over rice.
* * *
Some one hundred and fifty Texas crawfish farms harvest about two million pounds of crustaceans a year. The farmers "purge" their crawfish of impurities before shipping them, by holding them in tanks of clean water for one to two days. Purged crawfish keep longer, taste better, and keep your kitchen a lot cleaner than their muddy wild cousins. See "Mail-Order Sources" ([>]) for home-delivery information.
* * *
Gulf Gumbo
Gumbos go back a long wag in Texas. The first known cookbook published in the state, a Houston collaboration, contained a half-dozen different recipes—one more than the number of lemon pies—plus instructions for making filé powder, a common gumbo ingredient.
½ pound andouille or other hot smoky sausage
3
to
4 tablespoons oil, preferably canola or corn
¼ cup all-purpose flour or prebrowned flour (see [>])
2 medium onions, chopped
2 medium bell peppers, preferably 1 green and 1 red, chopped
3 celery ribs, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
6 cups unsalted seafood stock
1 tablespoon file powder
1 bay leaf
½ teaspoon fresh-ground buck pepper
½ teaspoon cayenne
½ teaspoon dried thyme
¼ teaspoon white pepper
¾ pound peeled medium shrimp
½
to
¾ pound crabmeat, picked over to remove any bits of shell
10
to
12 shucked oysters, in their liquor
1 dozen green onions, sliced
Cooked rice
Serves 6 to 8
In a Dutch oven or heavy stockpot, brown the sausage over medium-low heat. With a slotted spoon, remove the sausage from the rendered fat, and reserve it. Eyeball the amount of fat remaining in the skillet, and add enough oil so that it measures about ¼ cup. Warm the oil and meat drippings over medium-high heat. Sprinkle in the flour, and, stirring constantly, cook it over high heat until a medium-brown roux forms. (If you are using prebrowned flour, this process will take 2 to 3 minutes, saving you 25 to 30 minutes.)
When the roux reaches the right shade, reduce the heat to medium, and add the onions, bell peppers, celery, and garlic. Continue cooking and stirring for about 3 minutes. Slowly pour in the seafood stock, stirring to incorporate it. Add the filé, bay leaf, black pepper, cayenne, thyme, and white pepper, and simmer the mixture about 45 minutes. Stir in the reserved sausage, shrimp, crab, oysters, and green onions, and heat them through.
Serve the gumbo hot over rice in bowls.
Variation: To make gumbo-stuffed peppers, mix rice with the gumbo. Bake seeded, cored bell peppers at 350° F for 25 minutes in a dish with a bit of seafood stock. Spoon the gumbo into the peppers, and bake them another 25 minutes.
* * *
The Choctaw Indians discovered the flavoring and thickening properties of ground sassafras leaves, which we know as filé.
* * *
Rice-Stuffed Redfish
We prefer to cook this elegant Gulf dish on a charcoal grill, but it's just as good from the oven.
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup chopped pecans
1 celery rib, minced
6 green onions, sliced
1 cup brown rice, preferably texmati
2¼ cups unsalted seafood or chicken stock
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 3-pound whole redfish or red snapper, completely boned
1 tablespoon oil, preferably canola or corn
Salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste
1 teaspoon lemon zest, chopped fine
¼ cup chopped parsley
Lemon slices and additional sliced green onions, for garnish
Serves 4
In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Add the pecans, and sauté them 2 minutes. Stir in the celery, green onions, and rice, coating the grains with butter, and sauté another couple of minutes. Pour in the stock and the Worcestershire sauce, and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover the pan, and cook the rice for about 50 minutes, until it has absorbed the liquid. Remove the pan from the heat, and allow the rice to steam, covered, for 5 to 10 minutes.
While the rice stuffing cooks, fire up enough charcoal to form a single layer under the fish, or preheat the oven to 350° F. Lay the fish on a cookie sheet or other work surface. Rub it inside and out with the oil, and then massage in a sprinkling of salt and pepper.
When the rice is ready, mix the lemon zest and parsley into it. Fill the fish's cavity with as much of the rice mixture as will fit easily. Press lightly to flatten the fish a bit.
To grill the fish: When the charcoal is covered with gray ash, transfer the fish to a greased grill basket, grill rack (see [>]), or large piece of heavyweight foil, and place it over the coals. Cover the grill with its lid or foil. To bake the fish: Transfer the fish to a shallow baking dish. In either case, spoon the remaining rice into a small baking dish, cover it, and heat it alongside the fish.
Grill or bake about 8 to 10 minutes per inch of fish. Turn the fish once carefully. A long, sturdy spatula helps the process.
When the fish is cooked, transfer it to a serving platter, surround it with the rice baked separately, and top it with the lemon slices and green onions. Cut the fish crosswise to serve, scooping up some of the rice filling with each portion of fish.
Orange-Marinated Gulf Fish
For this charcoal-grilled preparation, use firm fish fillets from snapper, redfish, or grouper, which hold up better than fragile fish such as flounder.
MARINADE
Juice of 2 oranges, approximately ⅔ cup
Zest of 1 orange, minced
6 tablespoons sherry
6 tablespoons oil, preferably peanut
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon prepared creole mustard
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
4 6-ounce firm white fish fillets
Orange wedges and additional orange zest, for garnish
Serves 4
Fire up enough charcoal to form a single layer beneath the fish.
Combine all the marinade ingredients in a lidded jar, and shake the jar well.
Lay t
he fillets in a single layer in a nonreactive pan. Pour the marinade over the fish, and let the fish sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Drain the fillets, reserving the marinade. Bring the marinade to a boil, and then simmer it for several minutes.
When the charcoal is covered with gray ash, place the fillets on the grill. Cook the fish until it is opaque and flaky, about 4 to 5 minutes per half-inch of thickness. Turn over the fish halfway through the cooking time, basting with the marinade then and shortly before the fish is done.
Serve the fish garnished with orange wedges and a sprinkling of orange zest.
* * *
Athens, Texas, announced plans in 1992 to build the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame. You can bet the trophies will be tastier than any in Cooperstown.
* * *
Snapper Vera-Texana
Snapper Veracruzana, probably the most popular fish dish in Mexico, is too often drowned in a pasty tomato sauce, even south of the border. If that's the only way you've had the dish, prepare yourself for a revelation, particularly if you use fresh tomatoes picked at their peak season.
4 6-ounce red snapper fillets or other firm-fleshed white fish fillets
Juice of 3 limes
Salt and fresh-ground black pepper
SAUCE
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound very ripe fresh tomatoes, chopped, or 2 cups canned crushed tomatoes
¼ cup seafood stock or bottled clam juice
¼ cup chopped parsley
⅓ cup sliced pimiento-stuffed green olives
1
to
2 pickled jalapeños, chopped
1 teaspoon jalapeño pickling liquid
1 tablespoon capers
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons White Wine Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican
½ teaspoon coarse-ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Lime wedges, optional, for garnish
Serves 4
At least 30 minutes and up to 1¼ hours before you plan to serve the dish, place the fish fillets in a single layer in a shallow nonreactive dish. Pour half the lime juice over the fish, and sprinkle each fillet with salt and pepper. Refrigerate the fish if you plan to marinate it longer than 30 minutes.
In a skillet or other heavy, shallow pan, heat the olive oil until it is fragrant. Add the onions, and cook them over medium heat for about 10 minutes, or until they are very soft and just beginning to brown. Stir them occasionally. Add the garlic, and saute another minute or two. Mix in the tomatoes (and any juice they have given off) and the remaining sauce ingredients. Cook the sauce over medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes, and then stir in the remaining lime juice. The sauce can be made a couple of hours ahead. Warm it before proceeding.
Drain the fish fillets, and arrange them on top of the sauce in the skillet, pushing each into the sauce just a bit. Immediately before serving them, poach the fillets, covered, until they are just cooked through and flaky, about 5 to 7 minutes. Don't overcook the fish.
Serve the fish immediately, giving each guest a fillet surrounded by a small sea of the sauce. Garnish the fish with lime wedges, if you like.
Ceviche
The lime juice in ceviche chemically "cooks" the seafood, magically changing its character in a matter of minutes, in this version, the scallops provide a nice contrast in texture and flavor to the Gulf fish. Truly fresh seafood is critical to the right taste.
¾ pound red snapper, grouper, or other firm-fleshed white fish, sliced in bite-size pieces
¼ pound scallops (small bay scallops can be used as is; larger sea scallops should be halved)
⅓ cup fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 avocado, peeled, seeded, and cubed
1 tomato, preferably roma or another Italian plum variety, chopped
¼ cup finely diced red bell pepper
3 tablespoons finely diced onion
1 pickled jalapeño, minced
1 tablespoon jalapeño pickling liquid
1 fresh serrano or ½ fresh jalapeño, sliced in very thin rings, optional
1
to
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
¼ teaspoon salt
Diced yellow tomato or yellow bell pepper, optional, for more color
Lime wedges, for garnish
Makes 4 appetizer portions
In a nonreactive bowl, marinate the fish and scallops in the lime and orange juices for 30 to 45 minutes. Drain the liquid from the bowl, and gently mix in all the remaining ingredients except the lime wedges. Refrigerate the ceviche 30 to 45 minutes.
Spoon the ceviche into parfait glasses, margarita glasses, or glass bowls to show off its colors. Garnish with the lime wedges, and serve.
* * *
"I discovered ceviche one blistering hot day while drinking beer under a palapa near Zihuatanejo's grubby downtown beach. After every fourth or fifth Carta Blanca I drank, the old lady who ran the place served a bowl of chopped fish, onions, and peppers. I'm not wild about fish, but this didn't taste fishy. It tasted refreshing and made me believe I was on the road to long life and prosperity. I'd eaten several bowls before I realized the fish was raw."—Gary Cartwright, "I Am the Greatest Cook in the World," Texas Monthly, February 1983
* * *
Flounder Fillets with Smoked Catfish Stuffing
One early Texas cookbook called for stuffing fish with Irish potatoes, you'll like this approach much better.
1¾
to
2 pounds flounder or sole fillets
STUFFING
6
to
8 ounces smoked catfish
½ cup dry bread crumbs
¼ cup chopped celery
¼ cup chopped onion
1 egg white, lightly beaten
¼ teaspoon paprika
1
to
2 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Juice of ½ lemon
Paprika and fresh-ground black pepper to taste
Lemon wedges, optional, for garnish
Serves 4
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Butter a medium baking dish. Cut the flounder into eight pieces of equal size, about 3 to 4 ounces each, and set it aside.
Remove the catfish from the bones (easily accomplished), if necessary, and place the fish sections in the bowl of a food processor. Add the rest of the stuffing ingredients except the milk, and process them together briefly. The stuffing should be thoroughly blended together but not puréed to oblivion. Add as much of the milk as is needed to moisten the mixture without making it soupy.
Spoon equal portions of the stuffing onto half of the fillets. Top each "stuffed" fillet with one of the remaining fillets. Place the fish in the baking dish, dot it with the butter, and sprinkle it with the lemon juice, paprika, and pepper. Bake for 20 minutes, until the flounder is opaque and flaky.
Serve the stuffed fillets with lemon wedges, if you like.
* * *
You can find smoked catfish in many supermarkets, but often you can get a better version by mail (see "Mail-Order Sources," [>]).
* * *
Fried Catfish
This is the classic style of preparation, spiced up a hit, for Texas's favorite freshwater fish. We use peanut oil for the frying, after years of experimenting with other options.
In Texas, catfish almost alwags appears whole or in fillets averaging about ½ pound each. Cut your fillets into smaller pieces if you prefer.
2 pounds catfish fillets
2 cups buttermilk
2
to
3 teaspoons tabasco or other hot pepper sauce
1 garlic clove, minced
1½ cups medium-grind cornmeal, prefera
bly stone-ground
½ cup extra-fine-grind cornmeal, preferably stone-ground, or all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
Cayenne to taste
Peanut oil for pan frying
Lemon wedges, Pink Tartar Sauce ([>]), or Tabasco or other hot pepper sauce, for garnish
Serves 4 to 6
In a shallow nonreactive dish, soak the catfish fillets in the buttermilk, Tabasco, and garlic. Refrigerate the fillets for at least 1 hour and up to several hours.
Combine the cornmeals, paprika, salt, pepper, and cayenne, and spread the mixture on a plate or in a shallow bowl.
Pour enough oil into a cast-iron skillet to reach halfway up your fillets. Heat the oil to 350° F. If the oil begins to smoke before reaching the proper temperature, it should not be used for this recipe. Always start with fresh oil.
While the oil is heating, drain the fillets, and lay them in the cornmeal mixture one at a time, coating both sides well. Gently place a few pieces of fish in the skillet, frying them in batches if necessary. Fry the fillets a total of about 5 minutes per half-inch of thickness, turning them once. Adjust the heat as necessary to get a deep golden brown crust and a flaky interior.
Drain the fillets. Transfer the fish to a warm platter. (Don't put them in the oven.) Serve the fish immediately, with the lemon wedges, Pink Tartar Sauce, or Tabasco. Pepper 'Puppies ([>
Texas Home Cooking Page 28
