RILLED NORWEGIAN SALMON with a Sour Cream Bearnaise and Salmon Caviar
One cannot deny the appeal of salmon. It is required eating at the table of a true gourmand, even in a place as seemingly remote as Key West. With the increasingly sophisticated levels of fish-farming developing around the world, coupled with express air shipping, one has only to live relatively close to a major airport to enjoy many fresh products from distant places.
Tiny steamed new potatoes make an ideal starch accompaniment for this dish.
Serves 4
Four 7- to 8-ounce portions of salmon Sea salt and cracked black pepper Ч2 cup virgin olive oil 1 bay leaf
У2 recipe Sauce Bearnaise (page 238) using red wine and red wine vinegar
1 cup sour cream or creme fraiche, at room temperature
2 teaspoons salmon caviar, chilled
1. Fire up a hot grill.
2. Season the salmon with sea salt and pepper and put it in a flat-bottomed dish with the olive oil and bay leaf.
3. Prepare the bearnaise. Taste and adjust seasonings and keep warm in a double boiler, stirring from time to time.
4. Lift the salmon out of the oil and grill it to medium-rare.
5. Put the salmon on warm plates and spoon the bearnaise over the center of the fish. Now place a dollop of sour cream on top of the bearnaise. Garnish with the salmon caviar. Serve.
/ like a lusty red wine with grilled salmon, such as a St. Joseph from the northern Rhone. If you prefer a white wine, perhaps try one from the same area, such as a Condrieu or Crozes-Hermitage.
IAN-COOKED SOFT-SHELL CRABS with Papaya and Lime
Back when I lived in the snow-swept farmlands of northern Illinois, there was one sure signal that summer was soon to return to the heartland: My favorite Midwestern fish purveyors, Roy and Bonnie, would call me and excitedly tell me that the soft-shell crab season had opened in Chesapeake Bay.
To tell you the truth, I would eat a fresh pan-fried soft-shell crab with nothing but a tiny squeeze of lemon any time at all. They are sweet, rich, crunchy, and as intense as any of God's creatures.
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Combine the flour, salt, and cayenne pepper and lightly dredge the crabs in the flour mixture.
3. Prepare the butter sauce and keep warm.
4. Heat a saute pan large enough to hold the crabs (or work in batches). Add the butter or oil and heat until very hot. Lay the crabs in the pan, top side down, and pan-fry them for about 2 or 3 minutes. Turn them over to pan-fry the other side, and finish cooking them in the oven for about 3 more minutes.
5. Remove the crabs from the pan and arrange them on plates on a ladleful of the butter sauce. Garnish the plates with the papaya and lime sections. Serve.
One of the several California Chardonnays teeming with tropical fruit flavors would be wonderful
with this dish.
Serves 4
Уг cup flour Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons cayenne pepper 12 small soft-shell crabs, cleaned
Basic White Butter Sauce (page 237) 1 cup clarified butter or peanut oil 12 papaya wedges, seeds and skin discarded 6 lime sections
CATFISH
with Peanuts, Green Onions, and Bacon Pan Butter
It used to be that catfish was served primarily in the South, but more and more northerners now enjoy these fish. Much of this change is, of course, due to the burgeoning industry of wet-farming the fish. Many farmers are finding good profits in this light, white-fleshed, tasty critter.
Serves 4
Four 8-ounce boneless catfish fillets, skin removed
Salt and pepper to taste
2 eggs, beaten IV2 cups buttermilk
2 cups yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons olive or peanut oil
6 or 7 ounces slab bacon, cut into rectangles Ч4 inch by I inch
Ч2 pound (2 sticks) butter, cut into small
pieces and kept cold 2 tablespoons lemon juice 8 green onions, roots and upper green
ends removed, cut into rings Ч2 pound raw, unsalted peanuts, lightly roasted, skins removed Lemon wedges, for garnish
1. Lightly season the catfish fillets with salt and pepper.
2. Whisk together the eggs and buttermilk in a large bowl and dip the fillets into the egg wash.
3. Mix together the cornmeal and flour, coat the fillets with the mixture, and set aside.
4. Heat a saute pan on gentle heat and add the olive or peanut oil and the bacon. Stir often until the bacon is partially cooked. Remove the bacon from the pan, reserve it, and strain the oils into a clean bowl or jar.
5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat a skillet large enough to hold the four fillets without crowding (or use two pans). Add the reserved oil to the pan(s) and allow it to get quite hot, adding more peanut or olive oil as necessary. Lay the fillets in and gently shake
the pan.
6. When the fillets are golden on one side, turn them over. Remove any excess fat and put the pan into the oven for about 2 minutes. (If the fillets are thin enough, you can cook them entirely on top of the stove.)
7. Remove the catfish to warm plates with a spatula. Wipe out the pan and reheat it almost to the smoking point.
8. Now, working quite rapidly, add the butter and then immediately add the lemon juice, green onions, and most of the peanuts, shaking the pan. Swirl the pan evenly over the heat. Gradually, as the butter incorporates, it will become saucelike in texture. Pour the sauce evenly over the fish and sprinkle the remaining peanuts and reserved bacon over all. Serve with lemon wedges.
A smoky Fume Blanc or a California Riesling would work well.