How do you eat smart when you grow up in a Cajun kitchen? I mean 75% of my Mama's recipes start with 1 cup of oil. No, it's not a typo. Most everything from her kitchen is roux-based. If you're not familiar with it, a roux is equal parts oil and flour browned to varying degrees of darkness depending on your intended dish. It's pretty much the base for a gravy. And all these recipes are served over rice.
So anyway, I can't lighten up these family favorites and do them justice. I certainly can't do it and expect my Daddy to claim me. He tells his friends that he had my sister and I trained to make a roux, and catch alligators by the time we were 18 so that we could find good husbands. And he's not kidding. (What can I say, its the Deep South.) So the best I can do with this is to strain the oil off the top of the pot! Also instead of using 1-2 cups of roux for a recipe, I'll use half a cup or less. And when watching calories, you could always skip the rice. Here is one I made this weekend. I think this one in particular is great on it's own- no rice needed.
Catfish Coubion
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1/2 cup roux
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1 large uncooked onion, chopped
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10 oz Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies, (we use Ro-tel brand)
salt and pepper, to taste |
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1 tsp crushed bay leaves
1 pound uncooked catfish fillet(s)
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1. make roux - a few shades lighter than peanut butter.
2. Add onions and tomatoes (could use more than listed here) cook about 5 min. Add the salt, pepper, and bay
3. Add about 4 cups water. Cook on med high about 3 hours. You will need to add more water throughout cooking time
4. Preheat oven to 350. In a large baking pan layer the stew, fish fillet/s and stew again. Bake for 30 min.
*Traditionally, catfish is used, but you could use any mild flavored fish you like. For best results use one large fillet rather than many small ones.
Roux Basics
Add equal parts oil and flour to a hot pot. Cook over med-hi heat, stirring
constantly, about 10 min, to reach the target shade. The roux should be a little darker than you want you final dish to be.
For best results use a black iron pot and a flat edged spatula.
*This is VERY easy to burn, so if you are new to a roux, cook it slower on a lower heat.
*The darker your roux, the more is needed to thicken your final dish.
*For a dish using a lighter color roux, you could exchange butter for the oil.
*Try making a large roux and storing it in a glass jar in the fridge. Use it as you need it.
* When making a roux to use immediately, have your 'holy trinity' (onions, bell pepper, celery) chopped and ready to go before starting the roux, Drop it in to quickly halt the browning process.
What about you, do you 'lighten' your heirloom recipes? Or is it a case of 'everything in moderation'?
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