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La Belle Cuisine
Kick it up
another notch!!!
 
Louisiana Real
and Rustic
Emeril Lagasse with Marcelle Bienvenu,
1996, William Morrow & Co.
Panfried Catfish with Lemon and
Garlic
"Before dawn when the mist floats heavily above
the black-green water
of the Atchafalaya River Basin, fishermen strike out to try their
luck.
By mid-morning, when the sun begins beating down on their backs, a
mess of
silver-gray catfish
will be snapped on stringers trailing in the
cool water. If the fish
are small, the fishermen may simply skin, gut,
and dredge them before panfrying. Larger
fish are cut into fillets.
These panfried catfish fillets are golden and crisp on the
outside,
smooth and hot within. Real Potato Salad is all that is needed to
go with them.
My friend Mr. Thibodeaux prefers his catfish on a
poor boy. He hollows out a loaf of crisp
French bread, slathers
both sides with Creole Tartar Sauce and fills the loaf with fried
fish, then washes it down with cold Dixie beer.
Mon cher, c'est bon, oui."
4 catfish fillets (6 to 6 1/2 ounces each)
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup minced parsley
1/4 cup minced garlic
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons
Rustic Rub
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup vegetable oil
Put the catfish in a shallow bowl. Add the lemon juice, parsley,
garlic
and
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon of the rub. Toss to coat the catfish
evenly. Cover
and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Combine the cornmeal, flour and the remaining rub in another
shallow
bowl. Remove the catfish from the marinade and dredge in the corn-
meal mixture,
coating evenly.
Heat the oil in a nonstick skillet and fry for about 3 to 4 minutes
on
each
side, or until golden brown.
Serve immediately. 4 servings.
Creole Tartar Sauce
"If there’s one condiment we can’t live without in
south Louisiana,
it’s
tartar
sauce. There’s nothing better to spread on a fried
catfish,
shrimp
or oyster
poor boy…"
1 egg [Egg
Safety Information]
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
2 tablespoons chopped green onions
1 cup olive oil
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 tablespoon Creole or whole-grain mustard
1 teaspoon salt
Put the egg, garlic, lemon juice, parsley, and green onions in a
food
processor and purée for 15 seconds. With the processor running, pour
the oil through
the feed tube in a steady stream. Add the cayenne,
mustard and salt and
pulse once or
twice to blend.
Cover and let sit for 1 hour in the refrigerator before using. Best
if
used
within 24 hours. Makes 1 1/3 cups
Real Potato Salad
"Potato salad is the traditional accompaniment to
fried
seafood and
fried
chicken, and in the southern part of the state, particularly along Bayou
Teche, the locals
like it so much they even put a spoonful or two in their
chicken and
sausage
gumbo. There are two secrets to this potato salad –
cut the potatoes into
chunks
and no mayonnaise will do but homemade.
It’s so tasty, I’ve seen people make a
sandwich
of it."
1 1/2 pounds medium red potatoes, scrubbed
4 hard-boiled eggs, coarsely chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped celery
1 tablespoon chopped green onions
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1/2 recipe One-Egg Mayonnaise (recipe follows)
2 tablespoon Creole or whole-grain mustard
Put the potatoes in a saucepan and add enough water to cover. Bring
to
a boil. Cook, partially covered, for 25 to 30 minutes, or until fork
tender.
Drain and cool. Peel and cut the potatoes into 1-inch chunks.
Put
the
potatoes in a salad bowl. Add the eggs, salt, cayenne, black
pepper,
celery, green
onions and parsley. Combine the mayonnaise
and mustard
and add
to the bowl. Toss to mix
well.
Serve immediately or refrigerate and serve slightly chilled.
4 servings.
One-Egg Mayonnaise
"Louisianians consume a lot of mayonnaise (pronounced
‘MY-o-naze’
down
here). It’s used in salads, slathered on sandwiches, dabbed on
vegetables, and
spread on cold meats."
1 egg [Egg
Safety Information]
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 cup olive oil
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
In a food processor or blender, blend the egg and lemon juice for
10
seconds. With the processor running, slowly pour in the oil through the
feed tube.
Mixture should thicken. Add the pepper and salt and pulse
once
or
twice to blend. Transfer
to an airtight container and refrigerate
for at
least
30 minutes before using. Best if
used within 24 hours.
Yield: 1 1/4 cups
More Emeril recipes:
Emeril's New New Orleans Cooking
Emeril's Creole Christmas
Emeril's TV Dinners
Every Day's a Party!
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