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CRAB GUMBO

There seems to be great differences of opinion about this famous dish and I cannot tell who is right. So I give a New Orleans version and a Western version and will let you fight it out on your own stove.

CRAB GUMBO, NEW ORLEANS VERSION

12 crabs (either hard- or soft-shelled)

3 tablespoons butter

1 large onion, chopped

1 pound okra

6 ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped

Seasonings (thyme, bay leaf, parsley, salt, cayenne pepper)

Water

Boiled rice

Clean the crabs. If you use the hard-shelled variety, break off the claws and cut the body in quarters. If you use soft-shelled, leave them whole.

Melt the butter in a large pot and cook the onion until lightly browned. Add the okra and tomatoes, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Uncover and add the seasonings, the crabs, and enough water to cover and a little over. Simmer for 40 minutes.

Serve very hot in bowls with boiled rice.

CRAB GUMBO, WESTERN VERSION

2 Dungeness crabs

4 tablespoons butter

2 large onions, coarsely chopped

5 large tomatoes, peeled and chopped

1 green pepper cut in julienne

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