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Shrimp - And - Crab - Stuffed Flounder
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| What You Need: |
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1½ pounds uncooked shrimp
10 tablespoons butter, cut into ½ -inch bits, plus 3 tablespoons butter, melted
1½ cups soft fresh crumbs made from French-or Italian-type white bread, pulverized in a blender
1/3 cup finely chopped onions
1/3 cup finely chopped green peppers
1/3 cup finely chopped celery
1/3 cup finely chopped scallions, including 3 inches of the green tops
2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
1/3 cup finely chopped drained canned tomatoes
4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1½ teaspoons Creole mustard (see Glossary)
½ teaspoon ground hot red pepper
2 teaspoons salt
1 pound (2 cups) fresh, frozen or canned crabmeat thoroughly drained and picked over to remove all bits of shell or cartilage
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley, preferably the flat-leaf Italian variety
Four 1½-pound flounders, cleaned and with the heads removed but the tails intact
¼ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
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| How To Cook: |
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1. Shell the shrimp. Devein them by making a shallow incision down their backs with a small sharp knife and lifting out the black or white intestinal vein with the point of the knife. Wash the shrimp briefly in a colander set under cold running water.
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2. Drop the shrimp into enough lightly salted boiling water to immerse them completely and boil briskly, uncovered, for 3 to 5 minutes, or until they are firm and pink. Drain the shrimp; spread them on paper towels, and pat them completely dry with fresh towels. Then chop the shrimp coarsely and reserve them.
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3. In a heavy 10- to 12-inch skillet, melt 6 tablespoons of the butter bits over moderate heat. When the foam begins to subside, add the bread crumbs and stir until they are crisp and golden. With a rubber spatula, scrape the entire contents of the skillet into a deep bowl and set aside.
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4. Add the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter bits to the skillet and melt them over moderate heat. Drop in the onions, green peppers, celery, scallions and garlic and, stirring frequently, cook for about 5 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft but not brown.
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5. Stir in the tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, Creole mustard, red pepper and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Then scrape the mixture into the bowl with the bread crumbs.
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6. Add the reserved shrimp, the crabmeat and the parsley, and toss all the stuffing ingredients together gently but thoroughly. Taste for seasoning.
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7. Preheat the oven to 400 °F. With a pastry brush, spread 1 tablespoon of the melted butter over the bottom and sides of a shallow baking-serving dish large enough to hold the flounders in one layer. Set aside.
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8. Wash the fish under cold running water and pat them dry with paper towels. To prepare the flounders for stuffing, place one at a time on its belly (light-colored side) on the cutting board.
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9. With a small sharp knife, make a 4- to 5-inch-long slit completely through the skin and top surface of flesh to the backbone of the fish, cutting from about 1 inch behind the head to within about 1 inch of the tail.
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10. With your fingers or the point of the knife, gently lift the top surface of the flesh away from the rows of small bones radiating from the backbone, to create pockets on both sides of the slit.
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11. Sprinkle the remaining teaspoon of salt and the black pepper inside the pockets formed in the flounders. Then fill the pockets and the space between them with the shrimp-and-crab stuffing, dividing it equally among the four fish and mounding the stuffing in the centers.
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12. Arrange the flounders side by side in the buttered dish and brush the tops with the remaining 2 tablespoons of melted butter. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for about 20 minutes, or until the fish feel firm when prodded gently with a finger. Serve the shrimp-and-crab-stuffed flounder at once, directly from the baking dish.
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