Blackened Trout with Carolina Gold Rice and Shrimp & Okra Gumbo

Chef Chris Coleman

Serves 4

1 cups Carolina Gold Rice

2 bay leaves

1 quart shrimp & okra gumbo, recipe below

2 Tablespoons butter, divided (1 Tbsp. cut into small slivers)

Vegetable oil, as needed

4 trout filets, 4 oz. each 

1 Tablespoon Cajun seasoning

chives, chiffonade, for garnish (optional)

1. Fill a medium pot with water, add in bay leaves, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, cook rice for 8-10 minutes at a hard boil until al dente. Drain over a fine meshed sieve or colander, discarding water. Transfer rice to a sheet tray and cool in the fridge (this can be done well ahead of time).
2. Heat gumbo in a pot over medium, stirring occasionally, until hot. Hold warm. (Alternatively, you can heat the gumbo in a microwave in 1 minute bursts, stirring to heat in between each cycle)
3. Heat an oven to 300 degrees. Remove rice from fridge and scatter 1 T of the slivered butter over the rice. Pat the skin of the trout dry with paper towels, and sprinkle with salt. Allow to sit for 3–5 minutes to draw excess water from the skin of the fish. Lightly pat dry again, and then sprinkle with a pinch more salt.
4. Heat a pan large enough to hold 4 trout filets without crowding over medium. If you do not have a pan large enough to cook all 4 filets at once, you will need to cook the trout in batches. It is important that the trout doesn’t crowd or the skin won’t get crispy. Add the remaining 1 T of butter to the pan and melt; once butter becomes lightly browned and fragrant, add enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan and heat until oil shimmers.
5. Place rice in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, then fluff with a fork, stirring the butter around in the process. Discard the bay leaves. Prepare a tray or large plate with 2 layers of paper towels.
6. Carefully slip the trout, skin side down, into the pan, pressing on the flesh side with your fingers or a spatula, ensuring all areas of the fish’s skin come into contact with the pan. While fish skin sears, divide the Cajun seasoning on the flesh side of the fish evenly. Once the flesh becomes less opaque, gently list the fish up to see if the skin is crispy. If it is, flip the trout over in the pan, and allow to cook for 30 seconds. Remove the fish from the pan and on to the prepared tray.
7. To Plate: Ladle 1 cup (8 oz.) of gumbo into 4 large entree bowls, ensuring each bowl gets 3-4 shrimp. Divide rice evenly between the 4 bowls in the middle of the gumbo. Place 1 trout filet, skin side up, directly in the middle of the rice. Garnish with chives (if using) and serve immediately.

Shrimp & Okra Gumbo

Yield: 3 quarts (you only need 1 quart to serve 4, as the recipe indicates, but it’s difficult to reduce the gumbo recipe into smaller amounts. Eat the leftovers 2-3 days after you’ve made it; the flavor will have had more time to develop!)

Ingredients:

½ cup oil

1cup flour

1 pound okra, sliced

1 medium onion, small dice

2 bell peppers, small dice

3 stalks celery, small dice

1 oz. garlic, minced

½ gallon chicken stock

1/4 cup Texas Pete

1/4 c Worcestershire

2 t Cajun spice

½ pound diced tomato

1 pound shrimp, preferably 31-40 size, but smaller is fine

How to cook it all:

1.  Heat oil in a large rondo over medium heat, and whisk in flour. Cook over low heat, stirring every 10 minutes or so, until roux is dark. This may take up to 30 minutes. Be patient.

2. Add okra, onion, bell peppers, celery and sauté until veg is softened. Add garlic and cook an additional 1-2 minutes.

3. Add stock, hot sauce, Worcestershire, Cajun spice, and tomato, and cook until stew has thickened. Add shrimp and turn off heat. The carry over cooking of the stew will cook the shrimp through. Check for salt and acidity levels. Transfer gumbo to a refrigerator safe vessel and cool (if not eating immediately).