Stuffed Flounder

Cheri Clotiaux Stringer (originally from Mrs. Simms’ Fun Cooking Guide: New Orleans, Creole, French & Cajun Country Recipes — Cooking for Two or More)

Yield: 2 servings

In the foreword of the source cookbook, it says that the author “comes from a family of cooks and restaurateurs. (sic) The Landry family are founders and operators of a well-known chain of Louisiana restaurants. As a member of this clan, Mrs. Simms has created one of the outstanding seafood dishes — stuffed flounder — featured on the menus of this restaurant.” It further states that this recipe won the Tri-color ribbon or sweepstakes award in 1958 in the Creole Cooking Contest of the annual International Rice Festival in Crowley, Louisiana. For Super Bowl parties, we stuff a huge flounder (if Bill gets one on his annual floundering trip) and it feeds 14-16 people, and there are NEVER any leftovers! (Dec 1996)

2 medium whole flounders or 1 lb flounder fillets (fresh or frozen)
1 cup white crabmeat
4 Tbsp butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 Tbsp chopped celery
1/2 cup cooked rice
1/3 cup cracker meal
1 Tbsp flour
1/2 cup evaporated milk
Half a shell of 1 egg, well beaten, reserve 1 teaspoon for coating fish)
A pinch of garlic powder
A pinch of oregano
1 hard boiled egg, minced
1 tsp salt
Aluminum foil
1/4 tsp red pepper

Season fish with salt and red pepper. Make white sauce by adding flour to 2 Tbsp of heated butter; blend well; add milk; cook, and stir until it thickens. Set aside to cool. Cook onion and celery in remaining butter until tender and clear; add garlic powder and oregano; set aside to cool.

In a bowl, combine rice, cracker meal, white sauce, onion mixture and egg; mix well and season to taste. Blend in the crabmeat and cooked egg.

Place dark sides of fish down on greased foil, (if using fillets) and spread dressing on fish; cover with other half, skin side up. Rub skin with egg, then with melted butter. Fold foil over and seal. Preheat oven to 350˚F. Place fish on baking sheet. Bake 30-35 minutes. Garnish with lemon wedges or green grapes.

NOTE: We stuff a whole flounder, by making a slit down the middle of the fish (along the spine) and with a sharp filet knife cut the flesh away from the bones inside the slit. Then put the stuffing inside the fish between the two sides of the fish and cook according to the instructions above.

Any tender fish can be used, such as perch, trout, red snapper, pompano or salmon.