recipe: green rice with mahi mahi

There is actually a reason I did not name this arroz verde… it is because, if I were going to do this as a true verde sauce, in my mind, should probably include some tomitillios, of which this recipe does not include (see my chili verde recipe). It is closer to perhaps a riz vert insomuch as it is built on a base of the color green and is rice based in a Delta cooking style. This version includes steaming the mahi mahi over the top of the cooking the rice. The fish (as well as some of the other ingreds) are interchangeable, as usual, but this was truly inspired by the fact that there were all these pretty colors of green in my fridge to draw from along with the fresh fish I picked up. I have fresh made veggie stock at home that has this great deep green brown color that came from some really nice veggies I had and has a brilliant flavor to help set the base flavors (being it was born out of them), but a fish stock or broth might work well too. I am not a huge okra fan, but it adds to the green, and it helps give the rice a nice, thick, sticky consistency. These are always the best reasons to invent new dishes and always my faves in the way they come out.

Poblano pepper
green bell pepper
yellow onion
garlic
jalapeno pepper
celery
okra
chicory
collard greens
brown rice
cilantro
mahi mahi
fresh cracked pepper (black and white corns if possible) and / or house seasoning
stock pot
veggie stock
butter

Chop all three pepper types, garlic, celery, onion and okra
Combine the veggies in the stock pot over low heat and sweat to combine flavors
While the flavors meld, coarsly chop the cilantro, collard, chicory (and/or other dark leafy greens)
Add a bit of butter to the pot and add the rice. All the rice to become translucent
Add stock to the rice, typically about a 2:1 ration, bring to a boil and back down to a low simmer.
Season with pepper, house seasonings.
Season both sides of the fish filets with house seasoning
Allow the rice to cook 15-20 minutes then add the chopped greens to the pot and mix.
Once the greens are integrated with the rice place the fish filets on top of the rice.
Add any additional liquid necessary at this point, cover and allow the filets to cook through and the rice to finish cooking until it is completely tender.
Remember, the rice should have a sticky and thick consistency around it, it should not be dry and separated.

I serve with a leaf or two of the greens on the play, with the rice then piled partly over and the fillet of fish offset on the rice, maybe a leaf or two of cilantro for good measure.

recipe: prawn etouffee

In North America the prawn is regarded as the crawdad, crayfish, mudbug, etc. It could be construed by most passerby as a freshwater shrimp, however there is a distinct difference between shrimp and lobster-esque species, and that is what and how you eat them. I always giggle at the menu item “shrimp scampi” (as you will see in soon to be published recipes) because a scampi is crustacean NOT a sauce and true scampi are Nephrops norvegicus, a species to their area. The North American version is a closer cousin to the lobster than the shrimp that it is most often substituted for in recipes. I suppose this is both out of laziness and out of availability, but none the less… it is painful to hear people refer to dishes using names that don’t fit. Anyway… I was out today and overheard etouffee, a personal favorite, referred to not as the dish which is all about the sauce, as a afterthought, as in the sequence “I would like my shrimp, well done, with rice and etouffee, oh and no garlic, I’m allergic to garlic.” I’m not only floored but possibly insulted. you can have your shrimp etouffee but you can’t have etouffee shrimped! And, Damned, Nor Should You! Don’t even get me started on the asininity of the garlic comment! Eat it the way the chef prepared it or don’t order it in the first place. Seriously! HA. Good to note, the word etoufee is actually French for smother. This is a more robust version, but I’ve seen (and usually make) a much more stripped down version that does not include the trinity in the base veggies, doesn’t include most of seasonings and other parts which is more authentic to the bayeau, but if you include them it brings a much deeper flavor set to the dish.

prawns (tails cleaned, but having a few whole for plating is always nice too)
prawn liquor (fish stock will work, but the fatty water that comes from cleaning is what is better so save it if you can)
celery (with leaves)
onion (vadellia but yellow will work)
Cubanella pepper
garlic
oil and butter combo
flour
bay leaf
dried rosemary
parsley
black pepper
cayenne pepper
coffee
chicory
tomato paste

If you are doing this over rice, begin the rice now. I prefer my rice with bay, rosemary, coffee, and chicory steeped thoroughly. **

Coarsely dice the celery, onion, Cubanella pepper and garlic and set aside
Begin the roux by combining equal parts by weigh of the lipids (oil and butter) and the flour in a large skillet over low heat. Do not allow the roux to burn, work it over low heat until it is a reddish brick color.
Add the prawn liquor or stock and coffee (about 2:1) as well as a heaping tablespoon of tomato paste and combine until the roux and paste is dissolved into the liquid.
Add the diced veggies and season with bay leaf, dried rosemary, black pepper, cayenne pepper
Bring up to a boil and then down to a low simmer (in order for the roux to achieve it’s truest thickening power, always bring to that quick boil)
Allow the entire mixture to simmer 20-30 minutes minimum allowing the liquid to reduce and flavors to meld completely.
When sauce is done to desired thickness, add prawn tails (and a couple of whole prawns to steam on top), cover with lid.
Cook 5-8 minutes, do NOT overcook.
Re-season again, to taste, and finish with shredded celery leaves and the parsley
Serve over rice with a whole prawn over each dish or better serve family style with the prawns arranged over the top of the main dish **

** I actually really like this over grits, believe it or not. It also works over pasta, mixed warm greens and a new one I just found, molasses oats – trust me sounds crazy, it was one of the more brilliant concepts I’ve come across, though, it does require a nice thick sauce and nothing too wet and watery!

recipe: cephalopod & mollusk stew

So, yes, no meat recipes for the next so many days as I undergo a self cleansing and hold true to the Lenten traditions of a bygone era, not that anyone would question my cooking in that, apart from the lack of pork based on the recipes. When I went grocery shopping there were a bunch of specials that I took advantage of. Scary enough, there is one inclusion here that had been bought at full price would actually encompass the cost of the entire meal I think.

The cephalopods were all frozen and on-sale uncleaned (so I had to de-beak and clean then, fun for me! It isn’t difficult, but time consuming, and considering how much fun I have doing it the almost 3x price even on sale between the two was worth the fun… note, if you can, save the ink sacs, they really do under a good boil add great flavor to the dishes.

The mollusks were also on sale frozen, uncooked. I rarely do this, but in dragging myself through the store I saw them and they were labeled “local caught” Mississippi, NOLA, OBNC and I couldn’t help myself because so much sea food is now labeled “farm raised” and/or “product of China” (btw, I don’t care origin on some products, farm raise it anywhere to provide me with non-regional fair, that’s fine, but with China, I get scarred because they don’t have formal farming rules, then again, I’m getting skeptical of the US after the peanut problem… argh) Canned could and would absolutely work too, just reduced the cooking time for them. A huge note on working with cephalopods is to remember they cook one minute or one hour (if you don’t they will be rubbery!).

Anyway, the premise of the dish is fish casserole or stew or soup, it is truly determined by how “wet” you choose to make it and what you serve it over. Doing it like tonight, I went with brown rice, which I went for more a stew consistency in order to work with the rice, but over a pasta, I would do this much thicker and more like a sauce, and, if I did this with potatoes or other heavy root starches, I can envision it being much richer but using the starch in the base probably a thinner soupy base. There are three ways to adjust the thickness. The first is the darkness of the roux. The darker the roux, the more it will be rustic and smokey, but the less thick it will be so, if you go for a dark roux you’ll need twice as much for a stew. The second way is to go for a medium roux (peanut butter to brick) and use another thickener, such as corn meal or okra in the cooking depending on your serving method. The final way is to do it near table side and go for file and related thickeners known as “at dish”

This meal, for me, is a hybrid, it incorporates some of the delta cuisine I adore and my own Iberian heritage. It should be noted that there are a lot of sub in, sub out in the recipe, and I’ve been messing around with variants for years and am just writing this one down now because I can. Should it be done with a sausage or hamhock or other meat product, absolutely, but the stock is a fruit stock I worked on saving for ’tilll this spring and am glad I truly had. You can add the sausage (charise, andoulie, pork chopped, etc) in your own recipe.

Base
onion
celery
bell pepper
cubano pepper
garlic
flour
olive oil

rice
stock (fruit or veggie or fish, but pork works well)

Top
cleaned calamares (fresh or frozen squid)
cleaned octopus (frsh or frozen)
cleaned cuttlefish (fresh or frozen, or canned or not used)
clams (canned, but fresh or frozen would steam over the dish)
oysters (canned, but fresh or frozen would steam over the dish)
muscles (canned, but fresh or frozen would steam over the dish)
stock (fruit or veggie or fish, but pork works well)
Collard or other dark leafy green (Kale is my other top choice, fresh or frozen of each would work

Seasonings
Rosemary
Bay
Tarragon
House seasoning

In the skillet mix equal parts (by weight) the flour and oil
Begin working the roux
Finely dice the veggies (onion, celery, bell pepper, cubano pepper, garlic) and add them to the pan opposite where you are working the roux)
Once the veggies begin to brown, add some black pepper, house seasoning and rosemary and keep browning
Combine the veggies and the roux in the skillet as the roux gets to the appropriate darkness
Put the veggies and roux to one side of the skillet and add the (fresh) cephalopods diced to the pan and begin to sear them
Once the cephalopods sear off and begin to saute you can decide if you want to take them to browning or now
In a pot place the rice and some oil and begin to brown the rice
Add the stock slowly to the skillet and begin to combine the roux and veggies and cephalopods, add additional rosemary and house seasoning, the bay and tarragon and combine until it becomes skilky
Bring the combination to a boil and then back down to a very low simmer and allow to meld, watching the consistency of stock base during cooking
Once the rice is browned add the liquid and cover to simmer (usually with brown rice it is 1 to 2 rice to liquid) over low heat
Watch the rice for consistency and add liquid as necessary
As the skillet begins to thicken up, re-season with tarragon and house seasoning and add liquid as necessary depending on your preference, add the shredded collard
After everything is cooked out, you want to add the mollusks to the skillet and let them steam into the dish, they cook very quick. If they are fresh, cook till they open, frozen or out of shell (such as canned) just add them and let them warm over the the steam), add additional tarragon as necessary
At the same time you add the mullusk, crank the heat on the rice and let it begin to crisp to the bottom of the pot

Serve
If you are using fresh collard add a leaf to the bottom to the dish
Position the rice over the collard
Spoon the stew over the rice and collard
Serve hot, if the mollusk are in shell, be sure to spoon out the shells equally, if out of shell, give the dish a good slosh or two before serving to mix the mollusks in before serving so they are fully integrated
A quick topping I like to the serving is a bit of ground paprika and some goat cheese with fresh tarragon but you can determine that based on your perference

RECIPE: crowded soup

When I (eric doormouse) was younger I always heard stories about the infamous crowded soup my grandmother used to make. She would collect the leftovers from the week (which is difficult to believe there would be any, considering my uncles and grandfather) and put them in a stock pot and make a big soup out of them so as to see nothing go to waste. It hardly requires a recipe when you think about it, so long as most of the leftovers make some kind of culinary sense with one another and could be construed as soup-worthy.

Although this is not exactly my grandmother’s recipe for a Crowded Sunday Soup, this is one of those recipes that changes a little bit every time I make it based on what veggies I have hanging around the place. In this case, it was time to use up a number of base veggies and the last bit of homemade stock I had left. This is the gist of what I used. The okra, a traditional African and later Mississippi Delta veggie that acts as a wonderful thickener for meals. Typically, I cook with the trinity (in Delta cooking the combo of onion, celery and bell pepper is a replacement for the more traditional miraquois of onion, celery and carrot) but in this case I combine a number of aeromatics to create the base flavor and build up from there. Once the base flavors are in and the stock is settled, the rest of the veggies are just a suggestion…

Also, I used leftover sugar ham in the dish, because pork typically makes everything better, however, eliminating it makes it a very nice vegitarian dish. I also actually made this in a crock pot on low after a quick saute of the base veggies, but the recipe is written the way I would do it over long cook in a heavy stock pot.

coarsly diced:
onion
bell pepper
anaheim pepper
celery
carrot
garlic
okra

sugar cured ham

shredded dark leafy greens (spinach, kale, mustard leaf, collard green, chicory, chard, etc.)
corn (frozen or cut fresh from the cob raw)
tomato (diced / sliced / crushed, fresh is best, though canned can work too)
squash (yellow summer, butternut, zucchini, etc.)
beans (red kidney, red pinto, black, black eyed pea, Cannellini, blue navy, etc. NOTE there is a difference in cooking using canned, frozen & dried!)
lentels (if you use ANY lentels you NEED to ensure there is enough extra liquid for the lentels since most are dried)

Stock (I prefer homemade veggie, but chicken or pork could work too)
water
olive oil
bay leaf
dried rosemary
tarragon
parsley
black pepper
paprika
Stock Pot

add a small amount of oil to the stock pot over medium heat
add the coarsly chopped veggies (peppers, onion, celery, carrot, garlic, okra) and simmer over medium heat so the veggies soften and the flavors begin to meld
add the dired rosemary and make sure to keep the veggies evenly cooking, do not allow them to over-carmalize as they saute

add the pork and allow it to meld with the rest of the flavors as you saute

add the stock and water, 2:1 ratio stock to water and allow to come to a simmer covered with the bay, black pepper, paprika and tarragon (dried, if fresh only add at the end or it’ll end up mushy grey leaves and taste like nothing)

after those flavors set, add the dark leafy greens, tomato, the lentils and re-season as necessary and allow to simmer

after those flavors set and the greens wilt and lentils become moist add the other veggies and allow to simmer, reseason (with the black pepper, paprika and tarragon etc) as neccessary. do not overcook the last group of veggies, as they will reduce to mush if you do

serve warm… sometimes, i like it with some flat leaf parsley and a hard cheese like parmeseano reggiano or pecorino romano grated on top