Gettin' Sauced, Again - Sauce Nantua

I realize I am one of the few food bloggers who is not posting something about St. Partick's day.  I also realize, now, that the holiday sort of snuk up on me, and I have not prepared my traditional Guinness dessert this year.  Oops!

So I am going to post about something completely off the topic of the day, even though I am "putting the horse before the cart" on this one.  But I gotta tell ya, it was SO unbelievably delicious that I had to post about it before it graces the Mahi Mahi Mousseline tomorrow.  I am talking about a sauce, of course.  But oh what a sauce it is!  And I have Laura Calder to thank for this saucy revelation.

OK, it's not a complete revelation... I've had Bisque de Crevettesis (Shrimp Bisque) before, which is made by puréeing shrimp, but it was enlightening to find out that there is a sauce made in the same way as Shrimp Bisque.  It makes sense that there would be, but I guess I had just never put it together.   Well, I am glad she connected the dots for me, cause this sauce is so delicious, I could swim in it.

Sauce Nantua

2 TB Unsalted Butter
2 Shallots, thinly sliced
1 medium Carrot, finely diced
8 oz raw Shrimp, shell on (no heads), rough chop (Whole Crayfish are traditionally used)
2 TB Cognac
1/2 cup White Wine
1 1/2 cups Fish Stock
1 Bay Leaf (2 if they are small)
1 spring of Thyme
2 tsp Tomato Paste
1/2 tsp Sweet Paprika
a pinch of Cayenne Pepper
1 cup Heavy Cream
Kosher Salt
Black Pepper

Melt the Butter in a saute pan set over medium heat.

Add Shallot and Carrot and saute for about 2-4 minutes.

Add chopped Shrimp and saute until they turn bright pink (about 3 minutes)

Deglaze the pan with Cognac.

Add White Wine and Fish Stock, then bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat to a simmer and add Bay Leaf, Thyme, Tomato Paste, Paprika and Cayenne Pepper.

Simmer the sauce for 30 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat and fish out the Bay leaf and the Thyme sprig.

Move the contents of the Saute Pan into your blender (shells and all - Don't freak out, it's good trust me)

Blend until smooth. (about 3-5 minutes)
Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a clean sauce pan (See I told you it would be OK)

Dispose of the solids and place the sauce  pan over medium heat.

Stir in the Heavy Cream and simmer the sauce until it thickens slightly.

Season with Kosher Salt and Pepper.
Serve over your favorite fish, such as Cod, Sole, Flounder or Tilapia.

I will be serving it over Mahi Mahi Mousseline tomorrow (mousseline, for all intensive purposes, is sort of a baked mousse)

It's like adding the flavor of the ocean to your plate.  It's rich and creamy.... unctuously delicious... and just plain wicked good.

Mangia!!
~~

Arthropod Abomination - Truffled Lobster Shells & Cheese

Some consider this an affront to nature, going so far as to call it an "abomination".

Personally, I am still not sure how I feel about it. I may just chalk this up to a "guilty pleasure" and hide in the coat closet the next time I make it. (cause then I won't have to share) ;)

I am talking about lobster, or rather, what usually gets passed off as lobster in a lot of restaurants. That would be the Squat Lobster, also known as Langostino but NOT to be confused with Langostine, Norway Lobster or Scampi. (for more information on this little riddle, see Confounding Crustacean Conspiracy Causes Conundrum)

The reason for my guilt is not because I was passing off Squat lobster as "Lobster", it's more of what dish I put it in. I have Italian sensibilities when it comes to Seafood and Cheese. Thus the two are not usually ingredients I tend to combine, but I was watching Royal Pains (FUNNY show) several weeks ago, and there was this food cart serving Lobster Macaroni & Cheese. At first I thought it sounded gross but the more and more I contemplated it, the more I felt that I should at least TRY it. After all it really couldn't be all THAT bad, right?

This is when I decided on the Langostino, since I would not want to go out and spend the money on a real Maine Lobster that has been shipped clear across the United States only to find out that my initial misgivings were correct. So the pseudo-lobster it was, just to test the waters, as it were. I was pleasantly surprised by the finished product. I may need to rethink this whole cheese & seafood thing.

I think the mild cheese helped, for it really is more of a Macaroni & Cream sauce. Danish Fontina is a very mild cheese; pleasantly nutty, but most importantly, smooth melting. I decided to drag out one of my more precious ingredients and anoint the whole thing with a drizzle of Italian Black Truffle oil -- Decadence in a bottle, I tell ya. Normally I would use a Penne or Cavitappi but I figured since it was a seafood dish, that shells might be more in keeping with the spirit.

Truffled Lobster Shells and Cheese

4 oz Unsalted Butter
1 Shallot, minced fine
1 Cup Heavy Cream
6 oz Mascarpone
4 oz Crème Fraîche
1 tsp Tobasco
3 TB Seafood Stock
3 TB Cognac
12 oz Danish Fontina
16 oz Medium Shells
12 oz Langostino (Previously Cooked)
Black Truffle oil
1 oz Grana Padano, shredded; divided
Panko

Shred all your cheese, so you will be ready.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan.

When the foaming subsides, add the shallot and saute until soft.

Add the heavy cream and bring to a simmer. (you will want to switch to a whisk at this point)

Add Mascarpone and stir until melted and smooth.

Whisk in the Crème Fraîche and bring back to a simmer again.

Add the Tobasco, the Cognac and the Seafood Stock.

Drop your pasta into salted boiling water and cook for 1/2 the time listed on the package. (in the shells case, only 4-5 minutes.)

Then begin adding the shredded Fontina, a little at a time, whisking until completely melted before adding the next handful.

When melted and smooth, add 1/4 tsp Black Pepper (Normally I prefer White Pepper instead, but I was out)

Drain the pasta and return it to the pot.

Add the Langostino...

Then the cheese sauce, and toss it all together to coat the shells well.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees while assembling the dish.
Divide the pasta between 6 - 12 oz au gratin dishes (or simply pour the whole mass into a 9x13 baking dish)

Drizzle each one with a little Black Truffle oil. (Black Truffle needs some heat to reach full flavor)

Use 1/2 of the Grana Padano and divide it amongst the ramekins.

Sprinkle an even coat of Panko over this.

Then divide the remaining Grana Padano between the dishes.

Place on a baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees.
Turn on the broiler and broil for 3 minutes before serving.

mmmm Creamy Truffled "Lobster" goodness.

I wonder if I should tell them that it wasn't shrimp? Nah!

Mangia!!
~~

Halloween Mumbo Jumbo and Filé Gumbo

First off, I hope everyone had a safe and Happy Halloween. I have to warn you that this is going to be a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG post, cause there is a lot of ground to cover and the witching Hour is upon me... but in keeping with the spooky "spirit" of the holiday, this post will be filled with torture, death and dismemberment, hey it even has a bubbling cauldron. I, myself, felt a little like one of the witches out of "that Scottish Play". You know... "Boil, Boil, Toil and Trouble, fire burn and Crayfish bubble..." Well, it was something to that effect anyway...

The point it, that I spent more of the evening making Gumbo, not just any gumbo, but Filé Gumbo (FEE-lay)... OK, so what is Filé Gumbo? Why, it's Gumbo made with Gumbo Filé, of course... ;) Seriously though, there are 2 ways to thicken a gumbo, at least only 2 ways that I know of. There is Okra, with it's mucilage thickening power, and there are ground up sassafras leaves, otherwise known as Gumbo Filé.

Factoid: the Cajuns learned about the thickening power of Sassafras leaves from the Choctaw Indians.

Anyway, I do not like okra, I have never liked okra, and I do not see myself liking okra in the near future either. Thus, I use Sassafras to thicken my Gumbo, ergo it becomes Filé Gumbo. (just like the song - Jambalaya, Crawfish Pie, Filé Gumbo.... )
So now all my fellow Okra dislikers that were screaming in horror at the idea of okra... You can relax, there is NO okra in this recipe.

Let's talk about 3 other key ingredients to good Cajun cuisine... Seasoning, Holy Trinity and Roux. Let's tackle seasoning first, cause it's the easy one...

Creole/Cajun seasoning.... Most, if not all, of the prepackaged stuff in the store has "salt" as the first ingredient, meaning, you are buying expensive salt. So I make my own, sans salt, so I can change the salinity of whatever I am making separately from the other spices. Here is the concoction I use, please feel free to increase the Cayenne to your liking.

1 TB Onion powder
1 TB Garlic powder
1 TB dried Oregano
1 TB dried Sweet Basil
2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1 1/2 tsp Dried Thyme
1 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
1 1/2 tsp White Pepper
1 1/2 tsp Celery Seed
1 1/2 tsp Sweet Paprika
1 1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika

Simply mix it all together in a small food processor into a powder.


The Holy Trinity... What is the Holy Trinity?
Well, the French have Miripoix... The Italians have Soffritto... and the Spanish have Sofrito. Basically, it is the building blocks of everything. In France it's Carrot, Celery and Onion in Butter or Olive oil. In Spain it's Garlic, Onion and Tomato in Olive oil. In Southern Italy it's Onion and Garlic in Olive oil. In Cajun/Creole cooking it's called "Holy Trinity" and consists of Bell Pepper, Onion and Celery.


Roux... May you never rue the day you attempted roux.
In it's simplest form, roux is Flour cooked in Fat... Ta Da!!! But Roux is much more complicated than that. At the risk of sounding like a sexist pig. Roux is like a woman, it needs to be treated gently and nurtured to allow it's beauty to shine forth. OK, maybe that was a little lame, but what seems so simple from the ingredient list, is much more complex. Roux should never be rushed, just like a good Risotto, it simply takes the time that it takes to make it. Emeril jokes that it takes 2 beers to make a good roux. I would tend to agree, when I make red roux it takes about 17-18 minutes. Red Roux?

You see, roux passes through several stages on it's way to being a burnt offering to the Cajun gods. There is White Roux, Blonde Roux, Brown Roux, Red Roux and Black Roux. (as well as multiple permutations in between like chocolate roux ) This is where I reiterate, that Roux CANNOT be rushed.

Let's take a stroll down Rue Roux, shall we?
OK, Place your oil and butter into a pan over LOW heat. (When I make darker roux, I use equal parts butter and olive oil cause butter burns REALLY easy in this process)

When the Fat is hot, add the flour and start whisking... and never stop or it will burn.

After 3 minutes, you have White roux (the flour will just start to become fragrant)

At 5-7 minutes, you have Blonde roux (the Nutty aroma of the flour increases)

At 10-13 minute, you have Brown roux (Also called Peanut Butter roux)

At 15-18 minutes you have Red roux (Also called brick)

At 20 minutes you have "Black Roux" (I didn't go this far tonight, cause it's way to close to the burning mark)

The problem with roux, is that the darker you make it, the less thickening power it has... Thus, when making Gumbo, the roux needs help from either Okra or Gumbo Filé.


OK, I have laid down the basics, so let's get to cookin up some trouble in the kitchen, cause I am STARVING now.....

First I had to murder some Mud bugs/Crayfish/Crawdads, whichever you prefer to call them. (See I told you there would be Torture, Death and Dismemberment in this post) I only had 20 live Cray fish, I really needed 100 but, oh well... I had Seafood Medley from Trader Joe's to make up the difference.

20 live Cray Fish
2 Quarts of Water
1/2 bottle of wine ---- Just kuz
Salt

Bring the Water and Wine to a boil, salt the water and plop the little mud bugs in the water for 6 -7 minutes. (No, in case you were curious, they didn't knock the lid off the pot or anything)

Remove from the water with tongs (If you are working in batches like I did) and allow them to cool enough to handle.

Strain the resulting "stock" through cheese cloth and set aside.

Pull off the tails and claws, then remove the shells and de-vein as necessary.
Yep, it takes alot of time for very little meat... Just look at the carnage.... Gruesome, huh?

Filé Gumbo

1/2 cup Pure Olive oil (Not Extra Virgin)
1/2 cup Butter
1 cup AP Flour
cups Onions, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups Celery, coarsely chopped
2 cups Green Bell Pepper, coarsely chopped
3 1/2 cups strained Crayfish "stock" (or seafood stock)
2 1/2 cups Chicken stock
2 TB Creole seasoning
1 1/2 tsp fresh garlic, minced
2 TB Gumbo Filé Powder
2 lb Seafood Medley

For Serving:
4 cups hot cooked rice
Meat from 20 Crawfish

Dice up your Holy Trinity....

Melt butter and oil over low heat, then add flour and begin whisking constantly until the roux turns a dark reddish brown. (See above)

Remove from heat; add onions, celery and green bell pepper, stirring constantly until vegetables are tender.

Add stock and Creole Seasoning to the roux and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to a simmer and add Garlic and Gumbo Filé.

Continue simmering, covered, for 75 minutes.

In the meantime, make about 4 cups of rice (after being cooked, it should be 4 cups)
Add thawed Seafood Medley to the Gumbo and bring back to a simmer for 10 minutes.

Salt to taste and serve by placing rice in the bowl, topping with crawdad meat.

Spoon File Gumbo over rice and garnish with a Crayfish.

Now if I only had some Blackened Catfish... LOL

Mangia!!
~~