Foodie Guide

For the Etouffee:
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon Soby's Creole Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon dry thyme
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 pinch cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup red bell peppers- diced
1/4 cup yellow bell peppers- diced
1/4 cup red onions- diced
1/2 cup scallions- thinly sliced
1 cup celery- diced
1 tablespoon fresh garlic- minced
14.5 ounces diced tomatoes (canned)
4 cups chicken stock
1 teaspoon pepper sauce
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 pound crawfish tails
salt

For the Chive Creme:
1/4 pound fresh chives
1 cup spinach leaves
1 pint heavy cream
salt

For the Rice:
2 cups long grain white rice
4 cups water
1 tablespoon salt

For the Grouper:
4 tablespoons olive oil
6 6-ounce grouper filets- skin removed
2 cups potato chips- crushed

Make a roux by heating the flour and oil in a saucepan and whisking for approximately 4 minutes. Saute the spices in the roux for about 1 minute then add the peppers, onions, scallions and celery. Cook until the vegetables are soft and lightly caramelized. Add the tomatoes, stock, pepper sauce and Worcestershire sauce, and cook for 15 minutes. Add the crawfish tails and cook for about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt. Keep warm until ready to serve.

Blanch the spinach and chives for 10 seconds and shock in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Squeeze to remove the excess water and finely chop. Place the chives and spinach in a blender with half the cream and puree until smooth. Remove the mixture from the blender and whisk in the remaining cream. Season to taste with salt. Refrigerate until needed.

Rinse the rice under cold running water. Place the rice, water and salt in a saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil. Boil for approximately 5 minutes. Stir the rice once and then cover the pot. Reduce the heat to low and continue to cook for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the rice to rest covered for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Heat half the olive oil in a large saute pan. Press one side of each grouper filet into the crushed potato chips and place three of them, potato side down, in the olive oil. When the crust is golden brown, flip the filets and reduce the heat. Continue to cook the filets until the fish is completely opaque and flakes easily, approximately 8 minutes, depending on how thick the filets are. Remove the fish to a warm oven while you cook the other three filets using the remaining oil.

Ladle some etouffee into a deep-rimmed plate or pasta bowl. Place a scoop of the rice in the center of the etouffee. Lay the grouper on top of the rice and garnish with the chive creme. Serves 6.