Joan Fontaines Creole Fish Gumbo Recipes

CREOLE REDFISH GUMBO

Steps:

• Prepare the roux: In a large pot, heat the oil over medium-high until it's just shy of smoking. Slowly shake the flour into the oil, whisking until smooth. Reduce the heat to medium and continue whisking until the roux is a deep dark brown, 20 to 30 minutes, adjusting the heat as necessary to prevent burning.
• Using a wooden spoon, stir in the onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic. Cook another 10 minutes, stirring constantly.
• Stir in the stock. Bring to a boil and add the crabs (if using whole blue crabs), gumbo filé, bay leaves, salt, thyme, Worcestershire sauce and cayenne. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the flavors have melded, skimming off any foam or skin on the surface, about 1 hour.
• Toss the shrimp and fish with the Creole seasoning and stir into gumbo, along with the oysters and crab meat (if using). Simmer until the shrimp and fish are cooked, about 10 minutes. Add the hot sauce. Taste and season with more salt and hot sauce if necessary. Divide among soup bowls and top with rice and scallions.

MA HARPER'S CREOLE GUMBO

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place flour in a baking pan and bake, watching and stirring occasionally until flour is a nutty brown color. Sift to remove the lumps of flour.
• Saute chicken in oil in a large pot. Add sausage and cook until it begins to change color. Add onions, bell pepper and garlic and let cook until onion is clear. Add crabs and let cook until the crabs have changed color. Add thyme, cayenne, celery, bay leaves, green onions and flour and let mixture cook 5 minutes. Add stock and season with salt, pepper and Cajun seasoning. Cook for 45 minutes over medium heat, then stir in parsley. Serve over rice. Add gumbo file to each serving.

JOAN FONTAINE'S CREOLE FISH GUMBO

Steps:

• Put the lobsters in 2 quarts of cold salted water in a large stockpot and bring to a boil for about 5 minutes. (The whole procedure should take 15 minutes.) Add the shrimp and cook for 4 minutes more. Take pot off burner. Remove the shrimp shells and lobster shells and heads and put them back into the pot with the water they were boiled in. Save the shellfish for later.
• Add the rest of the stock ingredients to the pot with the shells. Simmer uncovered for 40 minutes. Strain the liquid through a sieve into a large bowl; then put stock back into the pot. Discard the shells and vegetables.
• To make the gumbo, fry the bacon. When done, crumble and leave it in the skillet with the fat. Add the remaining ingredients listed in gumbo Part 1 and saute until brown, about 7 minutes.
• Add the halibut and olive oil to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes, or until the fish is done. Add this mixture to the pot with the stock. Add the remaining ingredients from gumbo Part 2. Cover and simmer over low heat until well blended, about 1 hour. Can be served with rice.

SEAFOOD OKRA GUMBO

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large pot over high heat, add onions, celery and bell peppers, and saute 1 minute. Season with salt and 4 turns of pepper and saute 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, garlic, and shallots, and saute, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes more.
• Stir in stock, then add fish, Worcestershire, hot sauce, bay leaves, basil, oregano and thyme, and bring to a boil. Cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Reduce heat to medium.
• Stir in shrimp, okra and Creole seasoning, and simmer 10 minutes. Fold in oysters and crabmeat and simmer 5 minutes more. Skim the impurities from the top of the gumbo, turn the heat to high and boil vigorously 5 minutes. Slowly sprinkle in the file, stirring to incorporate thoroughly, and cook, stirring, 2 minutes more.
• To serve, ladle gumbo into bowls or soup plates, add rice and sprinkle with green onions.
• Combine all ingredients thoroughly.
• Recipe from "New New Orleans Cooking", by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch, published by William Morrow, 1993.

EASY FISH CREOLE

Steps:

• In a large skillet sprayed with butter-flavored cooking spray, saute onion, celery, and green pepper for 10 minutes or until tender.
• Stir in undrained stewed tomatoes, garlic and brown Sugar Twin.
• Add fish and mix gently to combine.
• Lower heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• For each serving, place 1/2 cup rice on a plate and spoon about 1 full cup fish mixture over top.

JUANITA'S CREOLE GUMBO

Steps:

• In a large pot, put 2 cups water, salt [to taste] add crab boil, thyme and peppercorns.
• Bring to a roiling boil; add crabs and boil for approximately 20 minutes, add tomatoes and okra, and simmer slowly.
• While this simmers, make the roux.
• Slice the bacon strips into small pieces and fry.
• Remove.
• Sauté the chopped onion and garlic in the bacon grease.
• Remove.
• To bacon drippings, add enough flour to make a thin gravy.
• Use very low flame, stir continuously, taking care to make it dark brown without burning it.
• Add bacon and onion& garlic bits back to mixture and heat.
• Add roux to simmering seafood pot.
• Stir very well.
• Add shrimp and simmer approximately 30 minutes.
• Add oysters and simmer only until edges of oysters curl.
• It is done, serve over a bed of rice.

NEW ORLEANS SEAFOOD FILé GUMBO RECIPE BY TASTY

Steps:

• Make the seafood gumbo stock: In a heavy-bottomed 5-quart pot, heat the canola oil over medium heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add the crabs and cook until the shells turn bright orange, 2-3 minutes. Add the shrimp shells and heads and cook until the shells turn pink, 2-3 minutes more. Smash the crab and shrimp shells, similar to mashing potatoes, to release any juices.
• Add the bell pepper, onion, and celery scraps, green onion, parsley, thyme, garlic, bay leaves, black pepper, and water. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 30-35 minutes.
• Strain the stock through a large fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl. You should have 12 cups. Set aside until ready to use in the gumbo (if not using immediately, the stock can be cooled, then stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 1-3 days).
• Make the Creole seasoning: In a small bowl, whisk together the salt, white pepper, black pepper, cayenne, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, and oregano until well combined.
• Make the gumbo: Heat 6 tablespoons canola oil in a heavy-bottomed 6-quart pot over medium-high heat until faint wisps of white smoke come off the oil (if thicker, darker smoke appears, remove the pot from the heat and let cool for 3 minutes). Add the okra and fry for 2 minutes, until army-green in color. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the okra to a paper towel-lined plate to drain, leaving any remaining oil behind in the pot.
• Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to the same pot. Heat the oil over medium-high heat until faintly smoking again (do not let it overheat, or the flour will burn). Whisk in the flour to make a roux and cook, whisking constantly, until it turns a dark cocoa brown, 5-6 minutes. (If the roux is browning too quickly, remove the pot from the heat while continuing to stir and reduce the heat to medium-low.)
• Reduce the heat to medium, then add the onion, bell pepper, celery, and 2 tablespoons of the Creole seasoning. Cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes, until onions have softened. Add the garlic, bay leaves, and remaining Creole seasoning.
• Increase the heat to medium-high heat. While whisking or stirring constantly to prevent lumps from forming, add the seafood gumbo stock, 4 cups at a time. Add the okra, smoked sausage, crabs, thyme, and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer uncovered for 1 hour, skimming off any foamy flour residue that rises to the surface. The gumbo should thicken and reduce by one quarter.
• Season the gumbo with the salt and pepper to taste, then add the shrimp. Remove the pot from the heat, cover, and let the residual heat cook the shrimp for 10 minutes.
• Ladle the hot gumbo into bowls. Serve with rice and garnish with parsley, green onions, and filé powder, if using.
• It's important to properly cool and store leftover seafood gumbo, otherwise it will spoil. Fill a clean 2-liter bottle or plastic juice jug with water and freeze until solid. Once finished eating, place the ice bottle in the pot of gumbo and let cool, stirring occasionally to release heat. Transfer the gumbo to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days. 11. The gumbo can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
• Enjoy!