Lots of Lotte (Monkfish)

So here I am lounging on my favourite outdoor chair, whilst sniffing the air from the kitchen that is driving me batty!  Mama, inspired by Mya’s mama who is traveling in Brittany, is making lotte a l’armoricaine, which is a fish soup to end all fish soups and I, of course, will be given, in the process, some nice fresh fish to nibble on.  The fish around here are not polluted and do not contain any bacteria worth writing about, but mama cooks a little anyway for me, just to be careful.  So out comes the Le Creuset casserole and in go the 1 chopped sweet onion, 3 garlic cloves, and 2 shallots, to be sautéed until transparent.

Add a nice pinch of saffron threads and stir them around.

In another pan, mama sautés the 1-1/2-inch pieces of monkfish (skinned) after they have been shaken in flour, salt, pepper and sweet paprika (for color).

Raw pieces

Tossed in the flour mixture and sautéing in olive oil and a bit of butter.

Now the fun begins.  Mama is opening up a bottle of Armagnac and about to toss some on the fish!

WHOA–stand back.  This thing flared up like our fireplace, but it burns down pretty quickly.  No paws were singed, thank heaven.

Now put all the fish into the casserole and add 2 cups of white wine, any fish or shrimp broth you might have lying around (mama makes her out of the shrimp heads that she and papa don’t eat when they are peeling and dipping cooked shrimp), and 2 cups of crushed fresh tomatoes (or a large can if you don’t have fresh), a squeeze of lemon, and let it simmer slowly until the smell drives you nuts.  Toward the end, around 30 minutes later, add a nice handful of chopped fresh coriander, or, if you don’t have that, here’s a trick:  whole coriander seeds, about a teaspoon, may be used but put them in a bit earlier to flavour the soup.

Serve the soup over toasted bread rubbed with garlic. Num, num and I’m chowing down on my plain lotte avec grand plaisir!

This is one surfeited and happy kitty.  Just cleaning off the olive oil on my lips…er…bucal area.

*****

THANKS TO THE NEW YORKER!!!! This is hilarious….Mr Booth is a dream cartoonist.