Issue Date: October, 2009
Serves: Serves 8
Pairings:
Courtesy of:

Chef Brian Landry, Galatoire’s Restaurant

Ingredients:

This recipe won the 2008 Great American Seafood Cookoff and entered Chef Landry in the Great American Seafood Cookoff held in New Orleans every year in August.

 

Sautéed Cobia

• 8 each Cobia, 6-7 oz portions (Also try lemon fish or pompano with this recipe)
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups clarified butter
• Salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Louisiana Crab Butter

• 5 each Louisiana whole gumbo crabs
• 2 lb. plugra unsalted butter (European style)
• ½ tsp paprika
• 1/8 tsp white pepper or dash of cayenne
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp turmeric
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 cup vermouth
• Louisiana crab butter (recipe above)

Caramelized Fennel

• 3 each large onions, julienne
• 3 each fennel bulbs, julienne
• ¼ lb. butter

Fingerling Potatoes

• 2 lb. fingerlings
• 1 cup white wine
• 3 cups water
• 1 each fresh thyme sprig
• 1 each bay leaf
• Salt, to taste
• 2 Tbsp. butter

Vegetable Pearls

• 2 each zucchini (pearled)
• 2each yellow squash (pearled)
• 2 each carrots (pearled)
• 2 cups water
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Jumbo Lump Crabmeat

• 1 lb. Louisiana jumbo lump crabmeat
• 1 Tbsp. fresh tarragon, chopped
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• Salt and pepper, to taste.

Instructions:

Sautéed Cobia
Season fish with salt and pepper, and dust with flour. Cover the bottom of a large sauté pan with clarified butter and set over medium-high heat. Sauté for four to five minutes per side, until golden brown crust is formed.

Louisiana Crab Butter
Place gumbo crabs in an 8 qt. (non-reactive) sauce pot. With a food mallet or potato masher, break up shells as well as possible. Add the butter and seasoning to the saucepot and place on a very low flame or burner. Allow shells to barely simmer or stew in the butter for 30-40 minutes. Continue during this cooking time, to crush shells more, to release all crab flavor. Turn off heat; allow crab butter to set for 10 minutes. Strain butter through a very fine chinois or strainer into a stainless bowl. Place stainless bowl with butter over a large bowl filled with ice water. Whisk butter until it starts to solidify and become firm, but not too tight. Place butter into a food processor with an additional 1/3 pound of butter (cut into small pieces.) Blend crab butter with fresh butter together.

Heat shallot in vermouth in a 2 quart sauce pan. Allow to simmer until liquid in pan is almost dry. Over medium-high heat whisk in crab butter tablespoon at a time until all incorporated. Strain sauce through chinois. Keep in a warm place.

Caramelized Fennel
Heat sauté pan to medium-high heat. Add butter, onion and fennel. Turn heat down to medium –low. Allow to cook until they start to caramelize. Deglaze the pan with ½ cup of water to moisten the onion and lift the sugars from bottom of pan. Remove from heat and set aside.

Fingerling Potatoes
Place all ingredients in 8 quart sauce pot. Turn to high heat, and allow the potatoes to cook until just tender (about 20 minutes). Remove potatoes from water, allow to cool, and then cut on a bias. Add butter to sauté pan on medium-high heat. Add potatoes and cook until outside is browned and crispy.

Vegetable Pearls
Cut each vegetable with small parisienne scoop. Place zucchini and squash pearls in 1 cup of water seasoned with butter salt and pepper. Simmer until pearls are tender. Do the same for carrots, but in a separate pan (cook time is a few minutes longer).

Jumbo Lump Crabmeat
In a sauté pan, heat butter in about 1 cup of water. Add crabmeat and simmer until warmed through. Add tarragon and salt and pepper.

Plate Assembly
Toss fingerling potatoes with caramelized fennel. Place in center of a large shallow bowl. Place cobia over potatoes. Next, top the fish with 2 oz. of crabmeat. Next, use a sauce spoon to sauce around the fish so that it pools at the bottom of bowl. Sprinkle the vegetable pearls around the sauce.