Saturday Share - Mom's Cajun Court-Bouillon

I grew up on the Louisiana Gulf Coast in a Cajun neighborhood where many of our neighbors spoke only Cajun French.

My Mom embraced Creole and Cajun cooking and learned from the ladies in the neighborhood.

Today's recipe is one of hers. She never had it written down so I've been trying to recreate it for years. 

Trial and error has yielded today's recipe. I think it's pretty close to what she made, but there's probably still room for improvement.

Instead of seafood or a salt water fish, I'm using catfish fillets because they're readily available just about everywhere. Also, you can add some cooked shrimp at the end of the cooking time if you want another seafood flavor in the court-bouillon. Just don't overcook the shrimp.

Court-Bouillon is a French word meaning poaching liquid because in French cooking, fish are poached in a liquid with herbs. 

In Louisiana cooking, Court-Bouillon is more like a gumbo or a stew, and it's served over rice. Instead of poaching in a court-bouillon, we're actually eating what we call court-bouillon. In case you don't know how to pronounce the word, it's like this: coo-bee-yawn. 

By the way, the first thing the recipe calls for is a roux. If you don't know how to make a roux, I suggest you look it up on YouTube. 

Basically, the roux is equal parts fat and plain flour. You cook it in a heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, stirring constantly until it is dark brown in color.

You can order some pre-made roux from Amazon. I've never used any of them so I wouldn't know which one to recommend.

This is a recipe that's simple and easy for most cooks with nothing too exotic. Adjust the hot spices according to your taste buds. This is not traditional, but it's pretty close. I know it looks like a lot of ingredients, but it's not difficult to put this together. 

Ingredients

About a fourth cup of Roux (make it yourself or buy it pre-made)

1 medium onion, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes

2 1/2 cups chicken stock (fish stock is traditional)

2 bay leaves

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 1/2 teaspons dried thyme or 2-3 tablespoons fresh, chopped

1 tablespoon creole seasoning like Tony Chachere's

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon Tabasco Sauce

1 pound of catfish fillets

3 cups cooked rice

Directions

1. If you're using fish fillets, cut into 3 inch strips or chunks and sprinkle with creole seasoning. Set in fridge while you make the Roux.

2. If you don't have pre-made roux, now is the time to make it. Cook equal amounts of fat and AP flour (for instance, 4-5 tablespoons of each)  in a heavy pot. Stir, stir, stir, cooking over medium heat until dark brown but not burned. Reduce the heat to a medium simmer and carefully add the chicken or fish stock, the tomatoes, and all the seasonings except the bay leaves. Cook over medium heat while you prep everything else.

3. Saute the holy trinity (onion, bell pepper, and celery) in a small amount of fat until soft. Add the garlic and cook aobut a minute. Be careful not to burn. Add this to the roux.

4. Now add the bay leaves and keep simmering.

5. After about add the fish chunks, lower the heat, and simmer on low about 15 more minutes.

6. Adjust the seasonings if needed. 

7. Serve over rice in a bowl with a side of crusty, grilled French bread.

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

This is what I'm making for Saturday night because it's so cold outside, and this will really warm you up on the inside.