Keeping my promise: Pernod-Marinated Snapper

Back in June, when we made a fish soup that required Pernod (or other pastis-type apéritif), I promised that if you bought it for that dish, I would give you another that would use it.

            Just to refresh your memory, pastis (pronounced past-eese) is the regional drink of the Midi area in Southeastern France. It is typically served on ice, with a generous splash of water. It has an anise flavor, which some don´t care for as a beverage, but it is great for cooking, especially when using seafood. There are several brands of pastis available here; I use Pernod.

            I had invited neighbors for a casual dinner. A trip to the farmers’ market netted tiny zucchini, some beautiful tomatoes and a couple of skin-on filets of red snapper.  I wanted to put the fish on the grill, and I find that the filets with skin-on hold together better.  If you’d rather, this can be done under the broiler of your oven, or on a pre-heated cast iron grill pan on top of the stove for about the same amount of time.

            There’s a marinade I’ve been making for years, using pastis.  It is also delicious on other seafood.  It’s particularly good on shrimp.  You can also use it on salmon, but leave out the tomatoes in the re-warmed marinade that you’ll serve as a sauce.

            After removing the fish the reserved marinade is brought to a simmer and cooked for a few minutes. Then fresh tomato, chopped, is added to complete the sauce. We can still get good tomatoes, but when the fresh tomato season is over, you will still have great success with canned diced tomato, drained.

            It is important not to leave the fish (or other seafood) in this marinade for more than about 30 minutes.  Any longer and the flesh of the fish will take on a “cooked” appearance and will have an unpleasant texture when grilled.

            I made a simple rice pilaf to go along with this. I also split the zucchini lengthwise and brushed a little of the marinade on the cut side and cooked them on the grill beside the fish.

            Altogether a very nice dinner for an early autumn evening!

Southern French Snapper

½ cup olive oil

½ cup white wine vinegar

½ cup Pernod, or other pastis-type liquor

1 tablespoon whole fennel seed

4 cloves garlic, very finely minced

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon finely ground pepper

1 ½ pounds snapper filet, skin on (see note)

3 large tomatoes, cored and diced

            In a glass bowl, mix the olive oil, vinegar and pastis. In a mortar and pestle crush the fennel seeds slightly, or put them on a chopping block and chop coarsely with a sharp knife. Add to the bowl with the garlic, salt and pepper.

            Put the snapper in a plastic bag and add one half cup of the marinade, reserving the rest.  Place in a flat pan and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes, turning once about halfway through. 

            Preheat a charcoal or gas grill. Place the reserved marinade in a medium sauce pan and bring to a simmer. Let cook for a couple of minutes, then add the diced tomato.  Let it simmer for about five more minutes.

            Remove the snapper from the marinade. Spray the grill grates generously with cooking spray, or brush with vegetable oil.  Place flesh side down and cook for about five minutes.  With a spatula, turn carefully and cook skin-side down for another four to five minutes.

            Remove the fish filets to a platter and ladle on the sauce. Divide into four portions and serve immediately.

NOTE: Other full flavored firm-fleshed white fish can be used, such as amberjack or cod. 

Super Summer Seafood Soup Provençal!

As frequent readers may remember, I spent many summers in France in my younger days.  Much of this time was in Montpellier, in the south of France. When the weather starts to warm up, as it has recently in Memphis, I tend to think about the food I had there. 

 

 Last weekend I had a group of friends over for a dinner party. We did it in a sort of class format, with recipes and cooking demos. I chose Southern French as the cuisine. For the first seated course, we had a fish soup very representative of Provence, on the Mediterranean coast.

 

Unlike heavier seafood soups, such as gumbos or chowders, this is a light and brothy soup.  It makes a great introduction to a summer dinner, or with a salad, it makes a great luncheon on its own. 

 

For the fish, you want a very full flavored whitefish.  I used fresh amberjack from the Paradise Seafood truck. It has the perfect flavor and texture, but turbot, pollack or cod would also work. A more delicate fish, such as sole or flounder, would be lost in the lusty seasonings of this soup.

 

I used canned tomatoes, but when the good summer tomatoes are available from the farmers’ markets, peel, seed and dice them instead.

 

 A traditional addition at the table is a tiny splash of the regional apéritif known as pastis.  It is typically served on ice, with a generous splash of water. It has an anise flavor, which some don´t care for as a beverage, but it makes a big difference in the flavor. A couple of the guests were a little doubtful about a “fish soup,” but with this added touch, raved over it.

 

There are several brands of pastis available here; I use Pernod. As a drink, I’m not crazy about it, but I find lots of other uses for it. The soup will be delicious without it, but if you pick up a bottle to use with this soup, I promise a few other recipes using it over the next several months.

 

 One more note: this soup freezes well. If you want to double it, freeze it in quart containers and you’ll have an easy dinner or lunch when the Memphis heat makes it just too hot to cook.

 

 Provençal Fish Soup

 

 ¼ cup olive oil                                                                   

4 plump cloves garlic, minced                                                                    

1 medium onion, chopped                                                          

¾ cup celery, minced                                                                     

1 generous pinch each dried thyme, oregano and basil  

1 can (15-16 oz.) diced tomatoes

2 quarts fish stock (see note)

1 lb. boneless firm white fish

Baguette toasts

Pernod or other pastis (optional)

 

In a large heavy pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and stir a few times, then add the onion and celery.  Cook, stirring occasionally two minutes, then add the herbs. Continue to sauté until the vegetables are translucent, about 5 minutes.

 

 Add the tomatoes with their juices. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to as low as it will go, and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Add the fish stock, bring to a boil and add the fish cut into small chunks. Boil rapidly for 10 minutes uncovered. Add salt to taste, cover and simmer 20 minutes.

 

 With a wire whisk, whisk well to break up the chunks of fish and blend the flavors.  You may need to use a potato masher to flake the fish into small pieces. It depends on the variety of fish you use.  Serve in flat soup bowls with a baguette toast floating on top.  Pass the Pernod bottle at the table for each person to add to taste. It just takes a teaspoon or two for each serving. Serves 6 as a main course, or 8 as a first course soup.

 

NOTES:  Fish stock can be made from concentrated fish stock base (available from Penzeys), fish bouillon cubes (available in most Hispanic markets and some supermarkets), or use 2 bottles clam juice and six cups water.

Farmers' Market Eggplant

I am off work every other Saturday, and most of them, in the summer, you can find me wandering around the Agri-Center Farmers’ Market looking for treats to cook for my friends.

One of the vendors almost always has the most adorable little eggplants, both the traditional black, and ones with a creamy white skin. Each is the perfect size for an individual serving. I had to have them.
When I was growing up, the only way my mom ever made eggplant was to dip slices in an egg wash, then in cornmeal, and fry it in vegetable oil, or even better, bacon fat. (We cooked a lot of things in bacon fat back then; I’m really truly sorry that now we know how bad it is for us!) Although I liked it well enough, it wasn’t something I would have gone out of my way for.

Then, when I spent several summers in the South of France, I tasted many new ways of preparing it and loved them all. Most involved tomatoes and of course, garlic. Ratatouille, a braised medley of eggplant, zucchini, green bell peppers, onion, and tomato became a staple in my summer kitchen when I got home.
So what to do with these cute little ones? Taking a little inspiration both from the French and from my childhood, I minced up herbs, garlic and really good applewood smoked bacon, slathered it over the top and baked it on a bed of tomatoes.

It was delicious. I set each serving on a bed of pasta, made a salad with a good balsamic vinaigrette, and dinner was done.

Any leftover eggplant can be chopped, combined with the remaining tomatoes and saved for a pasta topping another day, or folded into an omelet. I think it would also make a great filling for a quiche.

If you don’t want to head out to the Farmers’ Market, you can use the slim oriental eggplants, or split one large eggplant and then divide into servings after baking. You’ll need to add about 15 minutes to the baking time if you do one big one.

I have fresh herbs growing right outside my back door and used both basil and oregano. If you have to buy fresh herbs at the grocery, you can stick with just oregano if you don’t want to spring for both, and the results will still be well appreciated by your friends.

FARMERS’ MARKET EGGPLANT
3 small eggplants, about 6" long
6 slices good quality smoked bacon, chopped
3 large cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
2 tbsp fresh basil, packed
2 tbsp fresh oregano, packed
1 tsp salt, preferably kosher or sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
3 tbsp good fruity olive oil
4 large red ripe tomatoes (or 2 15-ounce cans diced tomatoes)
2 tbsp olive oil to grease the baking dish

Preheat the oven to 350. Wash the eggplants and cut in half from stem to blossom end, leaving the stems on. Score about 1/2" deep without cutting through the skin at the edges.

In a food processor, combine the bacon, garlic, herbs, salt, pepper and 3 tablespoons olive oil. Pulse to blend well, but don’t puree completely. Or place all the filling ingredients on a chopping board and chop very finely by hand, then scrape into a bowl and mix in the olive oil. Divide this mixture among the eggplants, spreading it thinly on each all the way to the edges, pushing some down into the scored areas.
Wash the tomatoes, core them and diced them coarsely. Work over a bowl to save all the juices that drip out while cutting.

Use the remaining olive oil to grease a 9- by 13-inch casserole. Cover the bottom with the tomatoes. If using fresh tomatoes, sprinkle lightly with salt. Place the eggplants on top. Cover with foil and bake for about 45 minutes, or until the eggplant is soft. Remove the foil and bake an additional 15-20 minutes, or until the bacon topping is well browned and crisp looking. Serve the eggplants on a bed of pasta and drizzle the tomatoes from the bottom of the pan over it all. Serves 6.

A really good, tasty and economical soup!

When someone says "bouillabaisse," what come to most folks’ minds is the traditional fish soup of Marseilles with lots of fish and shellfish involved. But in traditional Provençal (Southern French) cooking, there are several varieties: eel, cod, snail, even chicken, or as in today’s recipe, poached egg.

This is a delicious, fast, easy and economical recipe. This is often known as "poor man’s bouillabaisse." According to Cuisine et Vins de France, a French culinary magazine, it is also known familiarly as "one-eyed bouillabaisse."

You shouldn’t be afraid of poaching the eggs in the soup as long as they are very fresh and you've kept the liquid to a bare simmer. If you are, use oven-proof bowls, put the hot soup in them on a baking sheet. Heat in a 350-degree oven for about 15 minutes, or until the soup has tiny bubbles around the edges. Break the eggs in the soup and by the time you get it to the table, the eggs will be poached to a soft-yolk stage. If you like your egg yolks firm, just leave the bowls in the oven until they’re done to your liking.

In the summer, you would use red-ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced. But this time of year, I use a can of diced tomatoes, well drained, for an excellent result. Keep the juices and add to another soup or to pasta sauce

You can make the soup ahead of time and reheat before adding the eggs, so it would be a perfect dish for a winter brunch or supper.

POACHED EGG BOUILLABAISSE

2 leeks (or one small onion)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 bulb fennel, quartered, cored and very thinly sliced
1 can (14-ounce) diced tomatoes, well drained
6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
½ tsp. (loosely packed) saffron (optional)
1 lb waxy potatoes, preferable Yukon gold, peeled and diced
Finely grated zest and juice of one small orange
6 eggs
Fennel fronds, for garnish

Cut off the upper dark green leaves of the leeks and discard. Cut the bulb (including the light green) in half lengthwise, then slice about ¼" thick. (Or peel and dice the onion). Cook with the garlic in the olive oil, in a heavy Dutch oven over medium heat, about 5 minutes. Add the fennel and cook until the onion is soft and translucent, but not browned.
Add the tomatoes, stock, saffron, potatoes, and orange zest and juice. Simmer about 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are done. Reduce the heat so the soup is just barely simmering. One by one, break an egg into a cup and slide into the soup. Cook another 4-5 minutes, or until yolks are done to your liking. Serve immediately, garnished with some of the fennel fronda. Serves 6.