Lobster Corn Cakes
Maine lobster, sweet corn, scallions and parsley in a fritter batter of fresh cream, sprouted flour and pastured egg. Seasoned with sea salt and lemon pepper, served with red chili paste and fresh lime..
Makes 4-6 4-inch Cakes (basic fritter batter based on a recipe by Michael Ruhlman)
1 cup lobster meat, blanched, cooled and coarsely chopped
1 cup organic sweet corn (no GMOs here!)
2 fresh scallions, slivered
1-1/2 tablespoons parsley, chopped, rinsed and squeezed dry
1/4 cup sprouted flour
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
1 tablespoon aluminum-free baking powder
2 ounces fresh cream
2 ounces lobster stock
1 egg
oil for frying
Stir lobster, corn, scallions and parsley together in a bowl.
Combine flour, salt, pepper and baking powder together in another bowl.
Whisk together cream, lobster stock and egg in a third bowl.
Pour flour mixture into cream mixture and whisk until smooth (batter will be very thick).
Pour just enough fritter batter over the lobster mixture to hold it together. You may not need all of the batter.
Heat 1/4-inch of oil over medium heat in a wide, heavy-bottomed skillet until a flicked drop of water pops, then carefully drop quarter cupfuls of batter around pan, flattening slightly with the back of a spoon.
Shallow fry cakes until golden brown on both sides, then transfer to a side plate to drain for a moment before serving hot with your choice of condiments (I like red chili & lime).
Like this:
Oyster and Andouille Gumbo
While “there are as many gumbo recipes as there are cooks”, one of my favorite preparations includes freshly-shucked gulf oysters and hand-made andouille sausage from LaPlace, Louisiana along with the usual suspects of chocolate-brown roux cooked down with onions, garlic, green pepper and celery. There’s some fresh okra and tomato in there, with plenty of cayenne, fresh thyme and oregano as well.
I like to use sprouted brown rice instead of the traditional white rice, adding in the salty-sea liquor from the oysters in place of some of the water..
Happy Fat Tuesday!
Like this:
Wild-Caught Salmon Chowder with Smoked Bacon and Black Sea Salt
Loaded with protein, omega 3′s and life-giving amino acids, this hearty and delicious soup has just a few carefully selected ingredients. Perfect fare on a cold winter’s eve..
Peel and cut 1 medium Yukon gold potato into 1/2-inch dice. Place in a pot and barely cover with light chicken (or fish, vegetable) stock and bring to a low boil. Cook until the stock has thickened with potato starch and the potatoes are very nearly done. Turn off the heat and keep warm.
Cut a couple of thick slices of hardwood smoked bacon into 1-inch lengths and cook over medium-low heat until the fat has rendered and the bacon is crisp. Transfer the bacon to a side dish to drain, leaving the fat in the pan.
Add about 1 cup each of diced yellow onions, diced carrots and bias-cut celery to the pan with the bacon fat and cook without browning until al dente.
Meanwhile, remove the skin from 6 or 8 ounces of wild Alaskan salmon filets, tear into large chunks and set aside.
Add the potatoes and their cooking water to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes.
Add the salmon and 1/2 cup of heavy cream to the pan, stir and simmer until the base has thickened and the salmon is just cooked through, about 8 minutes.
Add chopped fresh parsley and a squeeze of fresh Meyer lemon juice and stir to combine. Simmer for one last minute, then season to taste with freshly-ground black pepper.
Ladle soup into warm bowls, top with pieces of bacon and finish with a few flakes of black sea salt.
Related articles
- Chef Freddie Bitsoie Recommends a Cross-Cultural Celebration of Native Regional Winter Recipes (indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com)
Like this:
Andouille, Crab and Oyster Gumbo
Chocolate-colored roux, the Cajun/Creole “holy trinity” of red bell pepper, celery and roux, homemade shrimp stock, pecan wood-smoked Andouille, fresh crab and oysters..
For the Gumbo (from a recipe by Andrew Zimmern, with slight modifications)
1/2 cup organic, all-purpose flour
4 ounces pastured butter
1 Spanish onion, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 fresh bay leaf
5 cups homemade shrimp stock (substitute chicken stock)
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 jalapeno, minced
1/2 pound fresh okra, sliced 1/4 inch thick
3 large tomatoes, finely chopped
1 pound andouille sausage, sliced 1/4 inch thick
3 cups bottled clam juice
1 pound lump crabmeat, picked over
2 dozen shucked oysters and their liquor
3 tablespoons organic Worcestershire sauce
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch dice
3 tablespoons filé powder (divided)
3 large celery ribs, cut into 1/2-inch dice
sea salt and black pepper
parsley, chopped for garnish
green onions, sliced for garnish
In a large pot, stir the flour and butter until smooth. Cook over moderate heat, stirring every 45 seconds, until the roux turns a rich brown color, about 20 minutes.
Add the Andouille, celery, onion, red pepper, jalapeno, garlic, okra, thyme, bay leaf and half of the filé powder and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
Add the stock, clam juice, Worcestershire and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Stir in the remaining filé powder and add the crab, oysters and their liquor. Season with salt and pepper and simmer gently for 1 minute to just cook the oysters. Serve the gumbo with rice or bread.
Not the same recipe, but who doesn’t miss Justin Wilson?
Like this:
Shrimp à la Creole
A classic dish of wild-caught Gulf shrimp with lots of fresh celery, onions, garlic and green peppers in a base of tomatoes, shrimp stock, fresh thyme, parsley and oregano, cayenne, black pepper and sea salt..
Shrimp à la Creole (adapted from a recipe at nolacuisine.com)
2 pounds fresh shrimp (save shells to make shrimp stock)
2 tablespoons pastured butter
1 tablespoon bacon grease
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
2 ribs celery, finely chopped
1 small green pepper, finely chopped
2 tablespoons creole seasoning
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2-1/2 cups very ripe fresh tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 cups shrimp stock
2 tablespoons garlic, minced
2 fresh bay leaves
cayenne to taste
sea salt to taste
1 tablespoon freshly-ground black pepper
1 teaspoon freshly-ground white pepper
1 bunch fresh thyme
1/4 cup fresh oregano leaves
2 tablespoons Tabasco
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup green onions, green tops thinly sliced, white part sliced into 1/4″ thickness
1/8 cup flat leaf parsley, minced
Melt the butter in a large sauce pan with the bacon grease over medium high heat. When the butter begins to froth, add 1/2 cup of the onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are golden brown. Add the remaining onions, celery, and bell pepper, reduce the heat to medium and season with 1 tbsp creole seasoning and a healthy pinch of salt. Sweat the vegetables until soft.
Add the tomato paste mixing well, and cook, stirring constantly, until the paste begins to brown, then add the fresh tomatoes and another healthy pinch of sea salt (this will help the tomatoes break down). Stir well.
When the tomatoes start to break down into liquid add the white wine and bring to a low boil. Add the shrimp stock, remaining creole seasoning, garlic, bay leaves, black pepper, white pepper, cayenne (to taste), oregano and thyme. Simmer for 30-45 minutes.
Add the hot sauce and Worcestershire and season to taste with sea salt.
Reduce the heat to low and add the shrimp, simmering until just cooked through.
Serve with boiled rice and garnish with the remaining green onions and parsley.
Our Gulf friends are still struggling to recover from last summer’s devastating oil spill. Please support them at every opportunity!
Like this:
Mediterranean-Style Olive Oil-Poached Grouper
Inch-thick filets of fresh grouper are gently poached at exactly 120 degrees in top quality Spanish olive oil, thinly-sliced Meyer lemon, fresh Italian parsley and imported caper berries. Freshly-ground black pepper and crunchy sea salt top off this Mediterranean-inspired, velvet-textured dish..
Deceptively simple, the key to success in poaching fish this way lies in ensuring that the olive oil is kept at a constant temperature throughout the entire process (about 15 minutes to pre-heat, and another 10-15 minutes to cook over low heat). Use an instant-read thermometer to keep the temperature as close to 120 degrees as you can; if the oil is too hot the fish will be tough and the flavors will lose their delicate balance.
“…Groupers, widely distributed in warm seas, are characteristically large-mouthed, rather heavy-bodied fishes that tend to remain in discrete areas. Some are very large fishes, attaining a length and weight of about 2 metres (6 feet) and 225 kilograms (500 pounds)—in some instances reportedly much more. Groupers are often dully coloured in greens or browns, but a number are brighter, more boldly patterned fishes. Some, such as the Nassau grouper (Epinephelus striatus), are noted for their ability to change from one to any of a number of other colour patterns. Also, in many species, such as the blackfin and yellowfin groupers (Mycteroperca bonaci and M. venenosa), individuals inhabiting deeper waters are much redder than those living near shore. Groupers are protogynous hermaphrodites; that is, they first function as females and later transform into males. Groupers are prime food fishes and also provide sport for anglers and spearfishers…” –Encyclopedia Britannica
