Catfish with shrimp sauce

6 Servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
4 Catfish fillets (about 3 lbs)
Salt & pepper to taste
½ cup Butter; melted
2½ tablespoon Peanut or olive oil
½ small Yellow onion; peeled, chopped finely
2 tablespoons Finely chopped celery
2 tablespoons Butter
½ pounds Fresh mushrooms; sliced
1 tablespoon (heaping) flour
¼ cup Fish stock (see recipe) or clam juice
1 dash Tabasco
½ Lemon; juice of
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
⅓ cup Dry sherry
1 tablespoon Finely chopped parsley
¼ pounds Shrimp; cooked & cleaned (cocktail or salad shrimp are fine for this)

Directions

This is from a most interesting collection of recipes from New Orleans.

The cook is a fellow called Jesse. The cookbook, long out of print, is called Jesse's Creole and Deep South Recipes. He has a wonderful sensitivity, as this recipe shows. It will take some time to prepare but it is well worth it.

Salt and pepper the fillets. Mix the melted butter and oil in an oven-proof baking dish. (Pyrex would be fine.) Dredge the fillets in the mixture and broil, basting often with the butter and oil mixture. Do not overcook. The fish will barely begin to brown and will just begin to flake.

Meanwhile, prepare the sauce by saut‚ing the onion and celery in the 2 tablespoons butter. When clear add the mushrooms and saut‚ for 3 minutes.

Stir in the flour. Work out all lumps. Add the fish stock or clam juice, Tabasco, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, dry sherry, and parsley. Simmer for a moment until thick and then add the shrimp. Cook for just a minute and top the fish with the sauce.

I serve this over pasta along with Peas and Salt Pork (see recipe).

From <The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American>. Downloaded from Glen's MM Recipe Archive, .

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