Spring arrives quickly in South LouIsiana. The glory of nature and the renewal of life are celebrated with a unique combination of reverence and gaiety.

Trout Roulades

Ingredients:

  • 6 fillets of trout or redfish, 6 to 8 ounces each

  • 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

  • 4 tablespoons butter

  • 4 green onions, finely chopped

  • 1 garlic clove, minced

  • 1⁄2 pound fresh mushrooms, wiped clean,

  • stemmed and chopped

  • 1 pound shrimp (peeled and deveined) or 1 pound lump

  • crabmeat (picked over for shells and cartilage)

  • 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves

  • Salt, freshly ground black pepper, and cayenne pepper

  • 1 cup chicken broth

  • 1 cup fine dried bread crumbs (more or less as needed)

  • 1⁄2 pint half-and-half

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Pound the fillets a bit to make them lie flat. Sprinkle with lemon juice and set aside. Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, and mushrooms and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the shrimp or crabmeat and basil, and season with salt, black pepper and cayenne. Add 3⁄4 cup of the chicken broth and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the bread crumbs and stir so that the mixture binds together. Remove from the heat and cool. Place a tablespoon or so of the mixture on top of the fish fillet and roll up like a jelly roll. (You may have to use a toothpick to hold the roll together.) Place the roulades in a baking pan with the remaining 1⁄4 cup chicken broth and the half-and half. Dot with the remaining butter. Bake until the fish flakes easily with a fork, 20 to 25 minutes. Top with Creollaise Sauce

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Summer