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Cooking with Viggo

Cooking with Viggo

By Chef Viggo Anderson

Jun 28, 2000 -- I do hope you enjoyed Chef Bill's column last time. We need to do more of what he does with our friends and loved ones.

This time I like to take you to France again because I am really fascinated with the food, ambience and the way they take care of their traditions and raw materials from the individual regions.

The Loire is the longest river in France. It begins life surprisingly close to the Mediterranean, then makes its slow way north and west before spilling into the cold Atlantic in Brittany.

Though the social character changes dramatically along the way, the wide river unites diverse provinces, and one senses a common "joie de vivre," a way of life that is generous, easygoing, and above all, positive.

The Loire and the rich land she waters provide a generous array of fresh fish, vegetables and fruit, that are prepared with classic simplicity and respect for the purity and quality of the ingredients.

Crepe-stands, the Breton equivalent of a fish and chip shop or a hamburger joint, offer an amazingly wide selection of layered pancakes. So lets do it!

Seafood Pancakes

Make 6 pancakes, the Swedish kind, very thin (no baking powder)

stuffing for 6 pancakes:

2 tbsp butter
1 shallot, peeled and finely chopped
1 1/2 tbsp flour
1 1/4 cups hot milk
salt to taste
freshly ground pepper
pinch of nutmeg
1 lb diced shellfish (any kind you like)
2 oz grated cheese (asiago, Swiss or parmesan as you like)

Melt butter in a saucepan, and gently saute shallot. Add flour. cook for 2 minutes. Slowly add milk, a little at a time, stirring constantly.

When all milk has been added, bring slowly to a boil, and let simmer for 5 minutes. Fold in seafood , and mix well, and season. Place a large spoon full of filling on each cooked pancake and roll up.

Reserve about quarter of the sauce, and thin with some milk if too thick. Arrange stuffed crepes in a shallow baking dish, and cover with remaining sauce. Decorate with some prawns or shrimp, sprinkle with grated cheese.

Bake in oven for 10 min. at 350 F until cheese is golden and serve immediately.

Suggested wines:

Muscadet de Sevre-et-Maine, Muascadet sur lie or Rose de Loire.

Salmon with Beurre Blanc
serves 4

3 salmon steaks
3/4 cup of white Sauvignon wine
1/2 middle size onion peeled and sliced
6 black pepper corns
sprig of parsley

Beurre Blanc

3 shallots peeled and finely chopped
3 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tbsp cold water
salt to taste
freshly ground pepper
8 - 10 oz unsalted butter

Place salmon steaks in a shallow oven proof dish, with whit wine, onion, and seasonings. Cook about 15 minutes at 350 degrees. When cooked, strain and keep warm while preparing sauce.

Put shallots, vinegar, cod water, salt and pepper in a small saucepan. Bring to boil and allow to reduce to about 1 tbsp of liquid. Remove from heat, and start to beat in butter, a little at a time. Replace pan over very low heat, and continue to add butter, beating constantly. Be sure the heat is even, since the butter will separate if the heat is to high. The sauce should be smooth and thick as cream.

Served warm, poured over the salmon.

This sauce is delicious over any white fish, shellfish or vegetables.

Suggested wines: Sancerre, Pouilly Blanc Fume, or a Chinon.

Reader Comments

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Larry Boros	Feb 20, 2003	Cleveland, Ohio	Engineer
Have you tried Alamarra crepe mix yet?