Seafood Choucroute Recipes

'CHOUCROUTE' OF FISH

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 300. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Put the rye-bread cubes on a rimmed baking sheet, and toss with the melted butter. Bake, stirring occasionally, until golden and crisp, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, put the sauerkraut, ham, juniper, caraway, thyme, bay leaves and all but 2 tablespoons of the wine in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When the mixture bubbles, lower the heat to a simmer and cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 40 minutes. Lay the fish on top, sprinkle with salt and pepper and cover the pot. The fish will be tender in about 10 minutes.
• As the fish cooks, put the shallot and the remaining 2 tablespoons wine in a small saucepan over medium-high heat; cook until the liquid has almost evaporated, about 5 minutes. Turn the heat to low, and stir in the cream. Add the remaining butter, a little bit at a time, stirring constantly. Once the mixture is creamy, stir in the lemon juice and some salt and pepper; keep the mixture warm over the lowest possible heat.
• When the fish is tender, spoon it and the sauerkraut onto a platter; pour the sauce over all, scatter the croutons on top and around, garnish with the parsley and serve.

SEAFOOD CHOUCROUTE

Steps:

• Place bacon over medium heat in a 4-quart stovetop casserole that can go to the table. When lightly brown, remove and reserve, leaving fat. Raise the heat to high, add scallops and sear briefly on both sides. Remove. Reduce heat to low, return bacon to the pan, add leeks and garlic, and cook until softened. Stir in the apple, cook about a minute, then add the smoked trout, broken into chunks. Add beer, bring to a simmer, stir in sauerkraut and season with salt and pepper. Tuck scallops into sauerkraut. Cover and simmer 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to a boil for potatoes. Simmer until tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain and return to the pot. Cover to keep warm.
• Tuck the mussels into the sauerkraut around the edges of pot. Cut the fresh trout in 2-inch pieces and place on top of sauerkraut. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Cover and cook about 6 minutes, until mussels have opened and fresh trout is opaque. Scatter with tarragon and serve from casserole with potatoes on the side.

EMERIL'S FAVORITE CHOUCROUTE CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Place the sauerkraut in a colander and rinse briefly to remove some of the salt from the brine; don't rinse it too much, or you will lose a lot of the flavor. (Alternatively, if the sauerkraut is not excessively salty, use as is.) Press to release most of the excess liquid and set aside. In a large nonreactive skillet, melt 3 tablespoons of the butter over medium-low heat and add the pancetta. Cook for 5 minutes; don't let the pancetta brown. Add the onions and continue to cook until they are soft but not browned, about 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the bacon-onion mixture to a 3 1/2 or 4-quart non-reactive casserole or ovenproof Dutch oven. Add the drained sauerkraut and toss to combine. Using a small piece of cheesecloth, make a bouquet garni with the thyme, bay leaves, peppercorns, juniper berries, and garlic and place in the baking dish. Add the ham hocks, chicken stock, and beer and stir to combine. Cover the casserole and bake, undisturbed, for 2 hours.
• Meanwhile, melt the remaining tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over high heat and brown the sausages on both sides. Set aside.
• Place the new potatoes in a saucepan and add water to cover. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook until the potatoes are just tender, about 15 minutes. (This will depend on the size of your potatoes.) Drain and set aside.
• When the sauerkraut and ham hocks have baked for 2 hours and the hocks are tender, remove the casserole from the oven. Place the sausages and potatoes on top of the sauerkraut. If the liquid has reduced to less than 2/3, add a bit more water. Cover the casserole and return it to the oven. Cook for about 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are very tender and the sausages are heated through. Remove the casserole from the oven and discard the bouquet garni. Serve immediately, with each person receiving some of each of the sausages, part of a hock, some potatoes, and sauerkraut. Pass the mustard at the table.

SALMON WITH CHOUCROUTE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350-degrees F.
• In a non-stick skillet, saute the julienned carrot and onion in 2 tablespoons of the olive oil until the onion just begins to get tender.
• Stir in the sauerkraut, 1/2 cup of the wine, the chicken stock (or fish stock, if using that), the 1 teaspoon of salted butter, juniper berries, thyme, bay leaf and black pepper. Bring to a simmer, cook for 5 minutes and remove from the heat. Pour this blend into a 9" x 13" casserole dish.
• Using the same skillet, add the 2 remaining tablespoons of olive oil and sear the salmon fillets over medium-high heat until they are lightly browned -- sear the second side for 30 seconds and then transfer them to the sauerkraut blend in the casserole dish. Bake this in the oven for five minutes.
• While the dish is baking, using the same skillet, (drained of any oil), add the remaining wine and vinegar and reduce over medium-high heat to 1/4 of its original volume, then add the unsalted butter, piece by piece, whisking until the sauce is creamy, then remove from the heat.
• Plate up the Salmon Choucroute from the casserole dish on to 4 individual plates and then drizzle the sauce over each one.