To celebrate a friend’s birthday, I made something especially meaningful to her. Because her husband doesn’t eat seafood, she doesn’t make it at home so it was an ideal time to splurge on her treat.
In a restaurant this would have cost plenty. When I made it, the whole meal cost less than $20 for us both and there were leftovers for her to take home.
I personally really enjoy sole; Dover sole when available. But I was unable to get any.
You used to be able to buy fresh sole fillets and cook them right away, but not recently.
Fresh turns to mush. It’s quite terrible and too expensive to waste. I spoke to the fish market manager and he could not explain this.
Although it looked fresh in the store presentation, I think it had been frozen and had thawed. I tried a couple of times, but it was not edible.
In recent years I learned it is safer to buy the bags of fish that are flash frozen at the catch source. A large bag of sole fillets costs $10. You can see what you are buying through the see-through bag and you can apportion it out at will, at short notice even, because you cook it frozen. It tastes like it was just caught fresh from the sea.
Speaking of fillets: the pronunciation is fill-it of fish, and fill-lay mignon beef. And speaking of fish, seafood must NEVER smell fishy… not EVER. The only fragrance should be the scent of the sea. Never use seafood that smells fishy. It could be a deadly experience.
I prepared the sole three ways. Gently deep-fried in fresh batter; individually pan-fried in butter and lemon; and sautéed breaded fillets, using homemade coarse fresh white bread crumbs (Panko works, too).
I served fresh medium large shrimp cocktail with fresh grated horseradish and a red seafood sauce made from simmered tomato paste, a little white Balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, Sambal Dutch Indies hot sauce (or Tabasco works), a little brown sugar, a drizzle of maple syrup and a fingertip of plain old-fashioned French’s mustard. I added a little grind of peppercorn and sea salt.
It was served in a seafood cocktail glass double bowel over ice, with a celery leaf to decorate. How you plate food makes a feast for the eyes to enjoy.
Then there were battered, deep-fried medium shrimp with homemade plum sauce and breaded medium large shrimp, butter- and pan-fried. Simply dip the shrimp in fork-stirred egg whites (tap off excess) and seasoned fresh homemade breadcrumbs. Sprinkle with a squeeze of lemon.
Speaking of bread crumbs: Mostly I prefer not to use dried rolls or French stick breads for breadcrumbs. I like to use day-old plain white bread for crumbs. I like the loose texture. I don’t make them too fine. The best part is they freeze really well, so you can always have crumbs on hand. You can season them how you like, as you use them. They thaw quickly.
My all-time favourite dish for Pat’s birthday brunch: sautéed medium flash frozen shrimp, “shells on,” served in bagna caude sauce.
I sautéed the shrimp in lots of real butter with finely sliced thin fresh garlic (do not let the garlic or the butter turn brown because that would change the taste entirely), and I mashed the garlic and removed it from the pan. Be careful that the shrimp just barely turns pink. Flambé with your favourite cognac.
Do not overcook; the shrimp will get a rubbery texture. Typically food continues to cook in its own heat.
Sautéing the shrimp in the shells makes for a wonderful intense flavour that is missed when shrimp is cooked shell-free. Do try this if you haven’t already. It’s a little messy but very much worth the little extra effort.
Remove and save the shrimp shells after cooking. In addition, when you make other seafood dishes where you remove shells before cooking, or after, save the shells and collect them in the freezer. Save crab shells, lobster shells and all seafood shells until you get a freezer bag filled, and then make broth. It’s great for chowders and seafood sauces. Freeze the broth and save for all sorts of seafood dishes. Add a little when making a savory panna cotta and garnish with a lobster claw. It’s a beautiful starter. Serve in a crystal scotch glass, rim dipped in lemon juice and celery salt.
Back to the shelled shrimp: Remove the still shelled shrimp from the very hot skillet, (be sure to use a large enough low-sides pan so the shrimp do not overlap each other) and deglaze the very hot pan by adding half and half cream. Maybe a cup or more. Bring the cream to a boil three times. Be careful not to let the scalded cream get above the sides, or you will have a nasty mess to clean up on the stovetop. Scalding the cream will thicken it.
I use a flat egg turner backwards to scrape the stuck-on bits free. But don’t toss bits away. No waste.
Let the cream scald on very high heat. Don’t turn your back on it for even a second. Reduce the cream just a bit. It will naturally thicken. Add just a pinch of dried thyme and a thimble of minced parsley, and a little sea salt.
Stir the mashed garlic into the sauce, using a fork, and return the shrimps that you have now shelled to the skillet sauce.
You can serve this shrimp hot, warm, or even cold the next day. Store, covered, in the fridge. Don’t keep it longer than one extra day.
At gift-giving seasons, I often make this shrimp and store it overnight (and the sauce congeals a little) in an individual fancy glass container; wrap each dish in food approved plastic wrap, tie it with an appropriate generous size bow and deliver to a neighbour.
They are always amazed at the unusual flavour. Add a note that says: “Freshly made, just for you. Eat today, ideally. Refrigerate.”
One final offering: sea scallops, again prepared several ways – battered and gently deep fried; breaded and pan fried; and plain seared – once over lightly – pan fried in real butter, sprinkled with just a pinch of dried thyme, and then flambéd with cognac. For a little different flavour, try Chartreuse. Experiment.
Scallops done three ways are beyond wonderful. Your guests will remember indefinitely.
Happy birthday and many more. Doing something special for special friends or family is worth the extra effort.
The working title for Carolyne’s Gourmet Recipes cookbook is From Lady Ralston’s Kitchen: A Canadian Contessa Cooks. This kitchen-friendly doyenne has been honoured and referred to as the grande dame of executive real estate in her market area during her 35-year career. She taught gourmet cooking in the mid-70s and wrote a weekly newspaper cooking column, long before gourmet was popular as it is today. Her ebook, Gourmet Cooking – at Home with Carolyne is available here for $5.99 US. Email Carolyne. Scroll down to the comments at each recipe column. Carolyne often adds complimentary “From Lady Ralston’s Kitchen” additional recipes in the Recipes for Realtors Comments section at REM.
