A Love Affair with Southern Cooking (3 page)

PICKLED SHRIMP

MAKES
16
SERVINGS

Shrimp grow fat and sweet in warm southern waters and this way of preparing them dates back to the days when there was no refrigeration: The acid in the vinegar kept the shrimp from spoiling as fast as they otherwise would. Nowadays, pickled shrimp are a picnic and party staple. Note:
Once drained, they keep well in the refrigerator for two to three days.

4 pounds large raw shrimp in the shell

6 quarts boiling water mixed with 1 tablespoon salt

6 large silverskin or small yellow onions, thinly sliced

24 whole allspice

24 peppercorns

30 whole cloves

6 large whole bay leaves

1 small lemon, thinly sliced

6 blades mace (optional)

6 cups cider vinegar mixed with 2 cups cold water

• 1.
  Cook the shrimp in the boiling salted water for 3 to 4 minutes or until bright pink. Drain, rinse in cool water, then shell and devein.
  
• 2.
  Layer the shrimp and onions in a 1-gallon glass jar, sprinkling with allspice, peppercorns, and cloves as you go and tucking in, here and there, the bay leaves, lemon slices, and, if desired, the blades of mace.
  
• 3.
  Pour in the vinegar mixture, cover, and refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours.
  
• 4.
  Drain the shrimp well, discard the bay leaves and whole spices, and serve cold as an hors d’oeuvre. Good, too, as a main course.
  

Through there came a smell of garlic and cloves and red peppers, a blast of hot cloud escaped from a cauldron they could see now on a stove…At Baba’s they were boiling shrimp.

—
EUDORA WELTY
,
NO PLACE FOR YOU
,
MY LOVE

SHRIMP RÉMOULADE ON FRIED GREEN TOMATOES

MAKES
6
SERVINGS

In downtown St. Francisville, Louisiana, there’s a slightly spooky Victorian house set in a grove of live oaks that’s both inn and restaurant. I didn’t stay at the St. Francisville Inn, but I did eat there more than once. The dish I remember most is this shrimp-and-fried-green-tomato appetizer. St. Francisville, by the way, may have more buildings on the National Register of Historic Places than any town of similar size: some 140 if you count the outlying plantations. Note:
If the rémoulade is to mellow, make it a day ahead. Leftover sauce can be refrigerated and used another day to dress cold fish or shellfish.

Rémoulade Sauce

½ cup Creole mustard

¼ cup vegetable oil 1

½ tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon finely minced scallion

1 tablespoon finely diced celery

1 tablespoon finely diced green bell pepper

1 tablespoon finely chopped Italian parsley

1½ teaspoons sweet paprika

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

½ teaspoon hot red pepper sauce

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon white pepper

¹
/
₈
teaspoon ground hot red pepper (cayenne)

Shrimp

2 quarts water mixed with 1 teaspoon salt

6 jumbo shrimp, shelled and deveined

1 recipe Fried Green Tomatoes

• 1.
  For the rémoulade sauce: Whisk all ingredients together in a small nonreactive bowl until creamy; cover and refrigerate overnight.
  
• 2.
  When ready to prepare the shrimp, bring the salted water to a boil in a large heavy saucepan over moderate heat. Add the shrimp, and simmer uncovered for 4 to 5 minutes or just until pink. Drain well and reserve while you prepare the fried green tomatoes as the recipe directs.
  
• 3.
  To serve, divide the fried green tomatoes among six heated small plates, each time fanning them into a circle. Center a shrimp on each circle of tomatoes and top with about 1 tablespoon of the sauce.
  

SHRIMP PASTE

MAKES ABOUT
3
CUPS

Called “potted shrimp” in England, this old-fashioned spread has been popular down south from Colonial times onward. No surprise here; America’s finest shrimp come from warm southern waters, especially those lapping the Gulf Coast. In days past, this was a slow, tedious recipe—the shrimp had to be pounded to a paste in a mortar and pestle—but today’s food processors make short shrift of that. How do you serve shrimp paste? Spread on cocktail melbas or stuffed into bite-size chunks of celery or hollowed-out cherry tomatoes. At fancy southern parties, I’ve even seen it mounded into snow peas or sugar snaps. Note:
Because of the saltiness of the anchovy paste and shrimp, this recipe is not likely to need salt. But taste before serving.

1 pound shelled and deveined cooked shrimp, halved if large

2 medium scallions, trimmed and cut into 1-inch chunks (white part only)

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons anchovy paste

¼ to ½ teaspoon hot red pepper sauce (depending on how hot you like things)

¼ teaspoon black pepper

¼ teaspoon ground allspice

½ cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature

• 1.
  Pulse the shrimp and scallions in a food processor until finely chopped.
  
• 2.
  Add all remaining ingredients and churn for 30 to 60 seconds or until smooth, scraping the work bowl at half-time. Taste for salt and add, if needed.
  
• 3.
  Pack the shrimp paste into a small bowl, cover with plastic food wrap, and refrigerate for several hours before serving.
  

APPETIZER SALAD OF FRIED OKRA AND CRAWFISH WITH BASIL VINAIGRETTE

MAKES
4
SERVINGS

Here’s another amazing “starter” that I enjoyed on a swing through “Little-Known Louisiana” several years ago while on assignment for
Gourmet.
Proof that Louisiana’s best chefs aren’t all in New Orleans, it was the specialty of Catahoula’s, a country grocery-turned-restaurant in the historic town of Grand Coteau barely fifteen minutes north of Lafayette. Owner-photographer John Slaughter told me that he’d named the restaurant for the spotted, blue-eyed hound that is the state dog of Louisiana, and his portraits of them line the restaurant walls. At the time of my visit, Chef Daniel Landry was manning the Catahoula’s kitchen and creating so many inspired dishes that I returned to the restaurant more than once. Catahoula’s is still there but Landry, alas, has moved on. Note:
Landry smoked fresh sweet corn for this appetizer salad, but grilled corn works equally well. All you need to do is shuck the ears, set them 4 inches from glowing coals, and grill for about 20 minutes, turning often. Cool the corn before cutting the kernels from the cobs. Landry’s recipe also calls for pickled okra; many southern supermarkets sell it, but if unavailable, see Sources. Note, too, that shrimp may be substituted for crawfish.
Tip:
Make the vinaigrette first and whisk vigorously just before using; save any leftover vinaigrette to dress salads another day.

Basil Vinaigrette

1 medium garlic clove

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

1½ tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil leaves

1½ tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon black pepper

½ teaspoon salt

1¼ cups fruity olive oil

Salad

Kernels from 2 medium ears grilled sweet corn (see Note at left)

1 medium sun-ripened tomato, peeled, cored, seeded, and cut into small dice

1 large egg

½ cup milk

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

2 cups unsifted all-purpose flour

2 cups fine dry bread crumbs

20 pickled okra pods (see Note above)

12 ounces crawfish tails or medium shrimp, shelled and deveined

Vegetable oil for deep-fat frying (about 4 cups)

1½ cups coarsely grated pepper Jack cheese (about 6 ounces)

8 ounces mesclun (mixed baby salad greens)

• 1.
  For the basil vinaigrette: Churn all ingredients except the olive oil for 20 to 30 seconds in a food processor or electric blender at high speed until smooth. With the motor running, drizzle in the olive oil and continue processing until thick and creamy; set aside (but be sure to buzz or whisk the vinaigrette just before using).
  
• 2.
  For the salad: Place the corn and tomato in a large nonreactive bowl and set aside.
  
• 3.
  Whisk the egg and milk until frothy in a small bowl with ½ teaspoon each of the salt and pepper; set aside.
  
• 4.
  Combine the flour with ¼ teaspoon each of the remaining salt and pepper in a pie pan and set aside. Next, combine the bread crumbs with the last of the salt and pepper in a second pie pan and set aside also.
  
• 5.
  Dredge each okra pod in the seasoned flour, then dip into the egg mixture, then coat with the bread crumbs, shaking off the excess and arranging on a wire rack. Dredge and bread the crawfish tails the same way and arrange on the rack. Air-dry both the okra and crawfish tails on the wire rack for 10 to 15 minutes; this helps the breading stick.
  
• 6.
  Meanwhile, pour the vegetable oil into a large deep saucepan until 2 inches deep; insert a deep-fat thermometer, and set over moderately high heat.
  
• 7.
  When the oil reaches 375° F., deep-fry the okra in two batches, allowing 1 to 2 minutes for each to brown and lifting to paper toweling to drain. Deep-fry and drain the crawfish tails the same way. As you deep-fry, keep the temperature of the oil as near to 375° F. as possible so that the okra and crawfish tails brown nicely without becoming greasy.
  
• 8.
  To finish the salad, add the cheese, mesclun, and
  ²
  /
  ₃
  cup of the vinaigrette to the reserved corn and tomatoes and toss well. Taste, and add a bit more vinaigrette, if needed.
  
• 9.
  Divide the corn and tomato mixture among four salad plates, top each portion with fried okra and crawfish, and serve as the first course of an elegant meal.
  

CRAB CUPS

MAKES
4
TO
4½
DOZEN

My good friend Anne Mead, who grew up in Dillon, South Carolina, always served these at cocktail parties. For many years we lived in the same Gramercy Park apartment building and, like so many other Southerners who’d left the South, we were soon best of friends. Anne was a wonderful cook; she even published a little cookbook called
Please Kiss the Cook,
from which this recipe is adapted. I sometimes add a little finely snipped fresh dill or chopped tarragon to the crab mixture—my innovation, not Anne’s. Note:
The bread to use for making the toast cups is thin-sliced, firm-textured white bread (sometimes called home
style bread). A one-pound loaf contains 27 slices (not counting the “heels”) and if the slices are not misshapen and you space your cuts carefully, you should be able to get two small rounds from each slice. That would be 54 rounds, total—about right for this amount of filling. The toast cups can be made a week in advance and stored in an airtight container.
Tip:
It’s easier to get two rounds per slice if you roll the slices lightly with a rolling pin—just enough to stretch them without mashing the bread.