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.

POT-ROASTED GUINEA FOWL WITH SAGE, CELERY AND BLOOD ORANGE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Remove any excess fat from the cavity of each guinea fowl. Wash thoroughly inside and out and pat dry with paper towels. Rub the cavity with a little salt. Cut off the two ends of the oranges, stand them on end and carefully slice off the skin (once you have removed one piece of skin you can see where the flesh meets the skin). Slice the oranges into five or six rounds each. Remove the tougher outside ribs of the celery until you reach the white, dense bulb and slice across thinly.
• Put in a bowl, mix in the thyme and a small pinch of salt and pepper, then stuff the cavity of each guinea fowl with this filling. Pull the skin at the front of each guinea fowl's cavity forward, to cover the filling, and tightly tie/truss up.
• Heat a thick-bottomed pan and add the olive oil and the guinea fowl, the skin of which has been rubbed in sea salt and pepper. Cook until lightly golden on all sides, then add the garlic, butter and sage and cook for 3-4 minutes until golden brown. Add the wine at intervals, enough to keep the pan slightly moist at all times. Place in the oven for 45 minutes, checking every 10-15 minutes and just topping up the wine as necessary. The guinea fowl will be roasted and partially steamed.
• When cooked, carefully remove from the oven and place upside down on a dish, allowing all the juices and moisture to relax back into the breast meat for at least 5 minutes. While your meat is resting, make the gravy.
• Remove all the fat from the roasting pan and place the pan on gentle heat. In the bottom of the pan will be your cooked, soft, sweet, whole garlic cloves and some gorgeous sticky stuff--when this gets hot, scoop out the stuffing from the guinea fowl cavity and add to the pan with about 2/3 cup of wine. As the wine boils and steams, scrape all the goodness with a spoon from the bottom of the pan into the liquor. When it has all dissolved, leave to simmer gently. Squash the cooked garlic out of their skins with a spoon (discard the skins); this will also thicken the gravy slightly, as well as give it flavor. Pour any of the juices that have drained out of the rested birds into the pan with the gravy, simmer and season to taste. Serve the guinea fowl with roast potatoes and any simply cooked green vegetable--spinach, kale, bok choy or broccoli.

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 GUMBO

Steps:

• In a large saucepan or stockpot, bring the water to a boil. Add the fish and shrimp, stir, and cook over high heat for about 4 minutes. (The water will not have returned to a boil.) With a slotted spoon remove the seafood; place in a bowl, cover, and set aside. Reserve the poaching liquid.
• Meanwhile, in a small skillet mix the oil and flour together, and cook over high heat for about 1 minute, until it sizzles. Reduce the heat to low, and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring every minute or so, until the roux is a deep mahogany color. Add the sliced onions to the mixture, stir, and then add the roux and onions to the reserved poaching liquid, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil, still stirring, and add the rice, stirring well to incorporate it.
• Add the remaining ingredients except for the reserved fish and shrimp and the filé powder. Stir, bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Cover, and boil gently for 20 minutes. Stirring, sprinkle the filé powder on top, mix and cook for another 5 minutes.
• If serving immediately, add the cooked fish and shrimp, return to a boil, and serve. If serving later, reheat at serving time, adding the cooked fish and shrimp at the last minute to warm them through.