Blackened Tuna

Tuna is probably one of the best fishes for blackening and by wonderful coincidence, no way of cooking tuna is better than blackening. The thing to know is that blackening fish (or anything else) creates a terrific amount of smoke and possibly flames. Best done outdoors over a very hot fire. - it can't possibly be too hot. A red-hot cast iron frying pan is ideal but you probably will not get it that hot.

You need

4 tuna steaks, about 300g each, cut at least 2 cm thick (but better if thicker.)

100 ml white wine

3 dashes. Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 tablespoon paprika (sweet or hot)

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 tablespoon salt

250 g melted butter

6 tablespoons softened butter

Cut off any dark parts of the tuna and discard.

Mix the wine, Worcestershire, lemon juice, and garlic in a broad bowl. Place the tuna steaks in this mixture for about thirty seconds on each side. Shake off excess marinade and reserve the tuna.

Strain the remaining marinade into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce by half. reserve.

Place a large cast iron frying pan over the hottest heat source you have. The pan is ready when the surface is smoking.

Combine the paprika and pepper with the salt in a bowl. Coat both sides of the fish liberally. Spoon melted butter over both sides, enough for it to drip a bit.

Place the fish into the hot skillet. BE CAREFUL! There is a very good chance that this will flame up briefly, most definitely there will be a lot of smoke. Don't touch the fish for a minute, or you will break the crust. After a minute or so it will break free when lifted with a spatula. Turn it and cook the other side the same way. Spoon a little more butter over - It should be pink in the center.

To make a lemon butter sauce, reduce the marinade by half, then remove from the heat. Mount the softened butter in this sauce a tablespoon at a time until it is creamy.

Serves four.

Jambalaya (Cajun Syle)

This is a brown jambalaya, as opposed to the red style usually found in New Orleans, which is Creole style and which contains tomatoes. You need a big cast iron saucepan for this. Jambalaya should never be stirred - turn rather than stir after the rice has been added. This prevents the grains of rice from breaking up. Most cooks turn jambalaya only two or three times after the rice is added, being sure to scoop from the bottom of the pot to mix the rice evenly with other ingredients. This one is in U.S. measures, being a U.S. dish, but this is normally a Euro blog.

6 Chicken thighs.

300 g smoked sausage.cut on the bias into 2 cm pieces.

3 cups long grain rice - uncooked (not basmati or any other asian rice.)

1/4 cup cooking oil

3 medium white onions - chopped fine

6 cups chicken stock.

1 tablespoon salt, or to taste (depending on how salty the stock is)

2-1/2 teaspoons granulated garlic

1 cup spring onions - chopped

1/2 cup green peppers

1/2 cup celery - chopped fine

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

Red pepper to taste

2 tablespoons Louisiana hot sauce

Fry the chicken in cooking oil until golden brown.Remove the chicken. Fry the sausage in the same pan until brown Remove the sausage and excess oil, leaving just enough to cover the bottom of the pot. Add the onions,celery and green peppers and fry until golden brown. Put the chicken and sausage back into the pot with the vegetables, and add 6 cups of stock (note the liquid level). Add the remaining seasoning and simmer covered until the chicken is tender. If necessary, add enough water to bring back to the previous level. Bring back to a rolling boil, and add the rice. Simmer uncovered for about 15 minutes - turn the rice. Cover with tight fitting lid, let steam for 15 minutes, or until the rice is tender. Turn the rice once more, and turn the heat off. Let stand for 10 minutes and then serve.

Jambalaya is more tasty if highly seasoned, so don't forget the red pepper. When adding salt, the liquid should taste a little too salty, as rice absorbs a considerable amount of salt.

6 to 8 generous servings.

Red Beans & Rice

Serves 8

The quintessential New Orleans dish, traditionally served on Mondays.(washing day) A lot of this can be trial-and-error, and it's going to take a little practice before you ll get it just right. This dish is special. It's delicious, it's cheap, it's simple, and it makes you feel good. It's the number one comfort food in the world.

You'll probably want to fiddle with it each time you make it, and arrive at the exact, instinctual combinations of seasonings that you like. Feel free to alter this recipe to your taste, but don't stray too far.

You can make this dish completely vegetarian, and it's still really good. Instructions below. There are probably as many versions as there are cooks. This one is from Chuck Taggart, a New Orleans native.(adapted slightly for use outside the U.S.)

Ingredients

• 500g red kidney beans, dry
  
• 1 large onion, chopped
  
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
  
• 5 ribs celery, chopped
  
• As much garlic as you like, minced (5 or 7 cloves, always use odd numbers of cloves)
  
• 1 large smoked ham hock, 300g of Creole-style pickle meat (pickled pork), or 300g smoked ham, diced.
  
• 500-750g mild or hot smoked sausage or andouille, bias sliced.
  
• A large pinch of dried thyme leaves, crushed
  
• 1 or 2 bay leaves
  
• As many dashes of Crystal hot sauce or Tabasco as you like
  
• A few dashes of Worcestershire sauce
  
• Red pepper and black pepper to taste
  
• Salt to taste
  
• Fresh Creole hot sausage or chaurice, links, grilled or fried, one link per person (optional) Any kind of good sausage will do.
  

Pickled onions (optional)

Soak the beans overnight, if possible. The next day, drain and put fresh water in the pot. (This helps reduce the, erm, flatulence factor.) Bring the beans to a rolling boil. Make sure they are always covered by water, or they will discolor and get hard. Boil for about 45 - 60 minutes, until they are tender but not falling apart. Drain.

While the beans are cooking, sauté the Trinity (onions, celery, bell pepper) until the onions turn translucent. Add the garlic and saute for 2 more minutes, stirring occasionally. After the beans are boiled and drained, add the sautéed vegetables to the beans, then add the ham hock (or ham or pickle meat), smoked sausage, seasonings, and just enough water to cover.Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a low simmer.

Cook for 2 hours at least, preferably 3, until the whole thing gets nice and creamy. Adjust seasonings as you go along. Stir well, stir well. (If the beans are old -- say, older than six months to a year -- they won't get creamy. Make sure the beans are reasonably fresh. If it's still not getting creamy, take 1 or 2 cups of beans out and mash them, then return them to the pot and stir.) If you can ... let the beans cool, stick them in the fridge, and reheat and serve the next day. They'll taste a lot better. If you do this, you'll need to add a little water to get them back to the right consistency.

Serve generous ladles over hot white long-grain rice, with good French bread and good beer. grilled or broiled fresh Creole hot sausage or chaurice on the side is also good. Try serving a few small pickled onions with the red beans -- Chop them up and mix them in with the beans. Also a good idea to sprinkle some spring onions on top.

Vegetarian Version

Follow the same instructions as for the regular version above, except:

Omit the ham hock (or ham or pickle meat), and the smoked sausage.

Add 2 tablespoons vegetable oil along with the seasonings.

Add 1 teaspoon (or enough as you like, to taste) of liquid smoke seasoning. The vegetable oil helps replace the fat you get from the sausage, and the liquid smoke flavoring helps replace the smokiness you get from the smoked sausage and smoked ham hock. Be very careful with liquid smoke, though ... a little goes a long way and it's really easy to overdo it.