Bobby Flay's Bar Americain Cookbook - Bobby Flay [38]
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Fresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs, for garnish
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. To make the lobster broth, heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook until soft, about 4 minutes. Increase the heat to high, add the brandy and sherry, and boil until completely evaporated, about 4 minutes.
3. Add the lobster stock and boil, stirring occasionally, until reduced by half, about 7 minutes. Add the clams, cover the pan, and cook until the clams open, 4 to 8 minutes. Transfer the clams with a slotted spoon to a bowl and keep warm. Discard any clams that do not open.
4. Add the corn and cook for 2 minutes. Add the cream and cook until just heated through and slightly reduced, about 2 minutes. Stir in the parsley and tarragon and season with salt and pepper. Keep warm.
5. To cook the fish, heat the oil in a large ovenproof nonstick sauté pan over high heat until it begins to ripple. Season the bass on both sides with salt and pepper. Place the bass in the pan, skin side down, and cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Turn the fish over, transfer the pan to the oven, and cook until just cooked through, about 4 minutes.
6. Put a fillet in the center of each of 4 large shallow bowls, skin side up, divide the clams among them, arranging them around the fish, and ladle some of the broth over the fish and clams. Garnish with tarragon leaves.
Cornmeal-Crusted Trout
CORNMEAL-CRUSTED TROUT
CRAWFISH SAUCE
This dish is Louisiana all the way. Crawfish are eaten in other states, to be sure, but no one is as passionate about these crustaceans as are Louisianans. And rightfully so; the state is responsible for producing more than 80 percent of the world’s crawfish! Crawfish look like tiny, clawless lobsters, and though they are not directly related, their taste is similar. The lobster stock in the rich, creamy sauce enhances that similarity. Sweet trout fillets get an old-fashioned cornmeal crust and are panfried to a light golden brown before being set down on a pool of the pink sauce.
Serves 4
Crawfish Sauce
2 cups Lobster Stock
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1¼ cups heavy cream
½ pound shelled crawfish tails, chopped
1 cup coarsely chopped watercress leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Trout
1 cup all-purpose flour
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs
2 cups fine yellow cornmeal
4 (8-ounce) trout fillets
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter
4 tablespoons canola oil
Watercress leaves, for garnish
1. To make the crawfish sauce, put the lobster stock and tomato paste in a small saucepan and boil over high heat until reduced by half, about 6 minutes.
2. Pour the cream into a medium saucepan and boil over medium heat until reduced by half, about 5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, to make the trout, spread out the flour on a large plate and season with salt and pepper. Place the eggs in a large shallow bowl. Add a few tablespoons of water, season with salt and pepper, and whisk until combined. Place the cornmeal on a large plate and season with salt and pepper.
4. Add the reduced cream to the lobster stock and stir to combine. Add the crawfish tails and watercress leaves, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, just to heat through. Keep warm.
5. Season both sides of each fillet with salt and pepper. Dredge one side of each fillet in the flour and tap off any excess, then dip that side in the egg mixture and let any extra drip off. Finally dredge the same side in the cornmeal and tap off any excess.
6. Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter and 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large nonstick sauté pan over high heat until the oil begins to shimmer. Place 2 of the fillets in the pan, cornmeal side down, and cook until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn over and continue cooking until just cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes. Repeat with the remaining 2 fillets, butter, and oil.
7. Ladle some of the sauce onto large plates or shallow bowls and top with the trout. Garnish with watercress leaves.