James Beard's New Fish Cookery (7 page)

1/4 pound smoked ham, diced

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

3 quarts boiling water

1 pound okra cut into 1-inch lengths

Boiled rice

Clean the crabs and remove all the meat from the shells. Melt the butter in a large kettle and sauté the onions until they are golden; add the tomatoes, green pepper, ham, salt, pepper, and the boiling water. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Uncover and add the okra. Cook for 10 minutes. Add the crabmeat and cook until gelatinous. If you like it thicker, add a little beurre manié.

Serve with boiled rice and a good white wine, well-chilled.

NOTE
: It is my opinion that these dishes, authentic as they are, overcook the crab. I believe that you will enjoy the dish more if you do not add the crab until about 5 minutes before serving. Or add only part of it to flavor the gumbo and the rest just at the last. The fish will then retain the texture and flavor of crabmeat and will not end up merely as part of a mush.

NEW ORLEANS COURT BOUILLON

This is not to be confused with the court bouillons that are used generally in cooking fish and shellfish. This is a particularly interesting development in regional cookery. It is definitely related to the court bouillon of French cookery and more distantly to the bouillabaisse; it has also the heaviness of Indian and Negro adaptations of foreign dishes that have sprung up in the South.

1 cup flour

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 pound butter

2 pounds onions

4 stalks celery

3 cloves garlic

2 sweet peppers

12 ounces tomato paste

11/2 quarts boiling water

1 pint red wine

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 lemon, sliced

1 bunch parsley

2 bay leaves

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

3 pounds filleted red snapper

Fried croutons

Prepare a roux with the flour and oil. When it is well thickened, add the butter, and the onions, celery, garlic, and peppers, all of which have been chopped very fine. Stir constantly so as not to scorch the roux; add the tomato paste and gradually add the boiling water. Add the wine and other seasonings. Simmer gently for 30 minutes. Add the fillets of snapper, and cook just until they flake easily with a fork. Correct the seasoning and serve with fried croutons and a chilled white wine.

SOUPE DE POISSON MARSEILLAISE

2 medium onions

2 leeks

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 tomatoes, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic

Bouquet garni (fennel, bay leaf, oregano, parsley)

3 quarts water

Fish bones and heads

2 pounds fish

1/2 pound orzo
or
acini di pepe

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

A large pinch of saffron

Croutons rubbed in garlic

Grated Parmesan cheese

Rouille (page 44)

Pare the onions and leeks and mince very fine. Cook in olive oil 4 to 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, garlic, and the bouquet garni. Add the water, fish bones and heads, and fish and simmer 15 to 20 minutes. Remove fish. Discard the bones and heads and put fish through a food mill. Return to the pot and bring to a boil. Add orzo and season to taste. Add saffron. Boil until the pasta is very soft. Serve with garlic croutons, grated Parmesan cheese, and rouille.

SOUPE DE POISSON À LA MARSEILLAISE

4 quarts of rockfish (sea bass, blackfish, etc.)

1 cup olive oil

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

4 large onions, grated or finely chopped

20 tomatoes, peeled and chopped

1/2 pound vermicelli

1 pinch saffron

1/2 pound grated Swiss cheese

Clean and wash the fish (no scaling is necessary) and cook it in 3/4 cup of the olive oil, stirring often to prevent burning and to flake the fish. When the fish is reduced to pieces, fill the pot with water, add salt and pepper to taste, and cook as long as you deem it necessary in order to extract all the flavor.

In another pot, put the remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil and cook the onions until they are soft (not brown). Add the tomatoes and cook for 15 minutes.

Strain the fish through a fine mesh strainer or squeeze it through a piece of cloth. Add the resulting broth to the vegetables and bring to a boil. Add 1/2 pound of medium-sized vermicelli, cut small, and when almost cooked, add a pinch of saffron. Let it simmer for a few minutes. This should give 8 quarts of soup. When serving, sprinkle each bowl with grated Swiss cheese.

Toasted fried bread and rouille (page 44) are good accompaniments.

CLAM CHOWDER

This, among fish soups, is my oldest love. It was the first fish soup I ever had and it has remained my favorite through the years. It can be made with either the minced razor clams of the Pacific Coast or the littlenecks of the East Coast.

With the littlenecks: Place 1 quart of clams in a saucepan with a little white wine or water. Cover and steam until they open. Pour off the liquid and strain it. Remove the clams from their shells and set aside. If you use the minced razor clams (fresh or canned), you will need about 11/2 cups of clams, drained. Save the broth, of course.

3 or 4 slices salt pork
or
bacon, cut in fine pieces

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 medium potatoes

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 cups light cream

Clams (about 11/2 cups, drained) and clam liquor

Thyme

Paprika

Chopped parsley

Try out the salt pork or bacon. Remove it when it is crisp, and lightly brown the onion.

Peel and dice the potatoes and cook them in boiling water until just tender. Take them out and let the water cook down a bit. Combine the bacon, onion, potato, and potato water in a saucepan, and add the clam juice. Bring this to a boil and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Season to taste. Add, gradually, the cream, and when it has just come to the boiling point, add the clams. Just let them heat through. Sprinkle with the merest pinch of finely rubbed thyme.

Serve in heated cups with a dash of paprika and a little chopped parsley.

VARIATION

You may add more clam broth and use milk instead of cream. The result is a lighter, less hearty soup.

MANHATTAN CLAM CHOWDER

3 dozen medium cherrystone clams, shucked (with 2 to 3 cups reserved liquor)

1/2 cup onions, chopped

1/2 cup green pepper, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 thick slices bacon, crisp-fried and coarsely crumbled (bacon drippings reserved)

1 can (16 ounces) stewed tomatoes

1/2 cup cooked rice

1/2 teaspoon thyme

1/4 teaspoon oregano

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Parsley

Strain clams, reserving liquid, and chop finely. Sauté onion, green pepper, and garlic in 3 tablespoons of the reserved bacon fat until tender but not browned. Add reserved clam liquid, tomatoes, rice, thyme, and oregano. Season to taste. Simmer 5 minutes. Just before serving, add the chopped clams and bring to a boil. Garnish with crumbled bacon and parsley.

WIN’S CLAM CHOWDER

This rich and unusual version of New England clam chowder is the recipe of Irwin Chase, an excellent Yankee cook.

1/4 pound salt pork

2 medium onions, finely chopped

1 green pepper, finely chopped

6 medium potatoes

1 pint quahogs
or
other clams, chopped, with liquid

2 tablespoons salt

1/4 teaspoon white pepper

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon celery salt

1 pint water

Sour cream

Dice the salt pork and fry it until brown. Add the onions and green peppers to the salt pork and drippings. Let them sauté to a light brown. Dice 3 of the potatoes. Add the quahogs with their liquid and the diced potatoes to the salt pork, onion, and pepper. Add the seasonings and let it all simmer until the potatoes are done.

Cut the remaining 3 potatoes into small pieces, put them in a blender with the water, and blend until creamy. Add this to the clam mixture and simmer for 5 more minutes. Serve with a dab of sour cream.

FISH CHOWDER

This is a hearty dish for a number of people. It can be cut in half, if you wish, but I like it best for a big party.

10 pounds fish, plus heads and bones

1/2 pound salt pork

1/2 cup butter

1 cup chopped onion

2 to 3 pounds potatoes, sliced about 3/8 inch thick

2 to 3 quarts milk

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Thyme

Use several kinds of fish and order the heads and bones as well; cover these with water and simmer them for 1 hour. Strain the broth.

Cut the salt pork into small dice and try it out until crisp in 2 tablespoons of butter. Add the onion and brown lightly. Boil potatoes in salted water till just tender.

Cut the fish into small fingers and simmer these in the fish broth for about 15 to 20 minutes. Add the potatoes, onions, and salt pork and let it come to the boiling point. Add the milk and season to taste. Let the mixture come just to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the butter and a sprinkling of thyme.

Fish chowder is usually served with pilot crackers, but I prefer fried bread with mine.

CARIBBEAN CHOWDER

1/4 pound salt pork
or
bacon

Butter

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

11/2 pounds fish (grouper, snapper)

3 large potatoes

Milk
or
light cream

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Oregano

Thyme

11/2 pounds lobster

1/2 pound shrimp

Cut the salt pork into small dice and try it out in a little butter. Add the garlic and onion and brown lightly.

Chop the fish or put it through a fine grinder. Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water until just tender. Put the potatoes and the chopped fish through a puree machine or force them through a fine sieve. Add them to the salt pork and onion mixture, and add enough milk or light cream to make a soup. Season to taste with salt, pepper, oregano, and thyme.

Cook the lobster and shrimp in boiling salted water for 5 minutes. Shell the shrimp and cut them into small pieces. Remove the lobster meat from its shell. Add the lobster and chopped shrimp to the soup and heat it to the boiling point. Correct the seasoning.

VARIATIONS

1. Add 1/2 cup of sherry or Madeira to the soup before serving.

2. Blaze the lobster and shrimp meat with brandy before adding it to the soup.

MARGARET JENNINGS’S CRAB SOUP

This is one of those soups that, seasoned by mistake, became a notable gastronomic discovery.

1 pound crabmeat

1/2 cup milk

2 tablespoons butter

2 cups sauce béchamel (pages 23–24)

1 cup cream, or more

1/3 cup Scotch whisky

Heat the crabmeat in the milk and butter. Prepare a light béchamel and add the cream to it after it has come to the boiling point. Add the crabmeat and heat again until it reaches the boiling point. Season to taste, and add more cream if it needs thinning. Just before serving, stir in the Scotch. Serve in heated cups with a sprinkling of finely chopped parsley.

CREAM OF SEAFOOD SOUP

12 shrimp

4 cups court bouillon (page 20)

12 crayfish
or
1 small lobster

1/4 pound butter

12 mussels

1/2 cup white wine

Bouquet garni (onion, parsley, thyme)

12 oysters

3 tablespoons flour

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Cayenne pepper

2 cups cream

3 egg yolks

Croutons

Shell the shrimp; poach just the shells in court bouillon for 3 minutes. Leave the shells in the broth. Poach the lobster or crayfish for 8 minutes. If you are using lobster, remove the meat from the shell and cut it into small pieces. (With crayfish, remove the meat from the tails.)

Grind the lobster (or crayfish) shells or pound them in a mortar and mix with 4 tablespoons of butter. Force this through a fine strainer.

Put the mussels in a large pan with the wine and the bouquet garni. Cover and steam until they open. Remove the meat from the shells and strain the broth.

Remove the oysters from the shells.

Reduce the court bouillon and add the broth from the mussels and any oyster liquor there may be. Strain the bouillon — you should have about 4 cups.

Prepare a velouté with the flour and 4 tablespoons of butter, gradually stirring in 2 cups of the bouillon until the sauce is thickened. Add the remaining bouillon, bit by bit, and taste for seasoning. Mix the cream and egg yolks and stir into the soup. Add the various seafoods. Heat until the oysters are heated through, but do not let it boil. Finally, stir in the lobster butter. Serve with croutons.

VARIATIONS

1. Add a healthy slug of either sherry or Madeira just before serving.

2. Make substitutions or additions to the list of seafood: clams, scallops, crabmeat, or others.

3. Make the soup with only one fish, if you prefer. Be sure, however, that you adjust the amounts of the other ingredients.

BISQUE

No matter what your seafood happens to be, the procedure for making bisques is the same. The recipe I suggest here is based on lobster.

Mirepoix (onion, carrot, celery, leek)

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 lobster, 11/2 to 2 pounds

1 cup white wine

1/4 cup cognac

1/2 cup rice

1 quart stock
or
fish bouillon

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 cup heavy cream

3 or 4 tablespoons butter

Cayenne pepper

Prepare a mirepoix by cutting the vegetables into very fine julienne and sautéing them for 2 or 3 minutes in 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the live lobster which has been cut in half. Toss it around with wooden spoons until its shell turns red. Add the wine and cognac and simmer for about 6 minutes. Remove the meat from the lobster shell and keep it warm. Pound the shells in a mortar, or break them up and put them through the grinder. Return them to the pot.