Salmon Creole

In New Orleans I ordered shrimp creole at almost every restaurant. I wanted to try it everywhere we went. One thing was clear - it’s amazing. I didn’t just order it because I wanted to test it, but also because it was my favorite thing on almost every menu.

Bringing it home, it didn’t make sense to make it with shrimp. We don’t really have that here. Crab would be epic, but it’s out of season, and then I saw a gorgeous piece of wild caught salmon and BOOM. This is perfect. It’s northwest - and it’s creole - all together. It’s the perfect marriage of two places.

The best thing I learned about making this sauce is that it’s virtually the exact same recipe no matter where you look. The secret to making it the best version is to keep cooking it. Can you make it this morning? That will be your best sauce. Can you make it yesterday? Even better. You will not regret spending a few extra minutes on this sauce.

I doubled the sauce when I made it. And then froze it. Then when I need a quick-ish dinner, this is ready to go. If you bring the sauce to a boil and pop in frozen shrimp, you’ll have a fab dinner on the table in no time.

Salmon Creole

serves 4

1 cup chopped celery

2 cups chopped onion

1 cup chopped green bell pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon thyme

1 teaspoon oregano

2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 cup chicken or seafood stock

2 bay leaves

1 - 28oz can crushed tomatoes

1/2 tablespoon worchestershire

juice of 1/2 lemon

2 pounds salmon

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt & pepper

long grain rice

fresh parsley

STEP 1

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a large stock pot, melt together onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic. Cook for a while over low heat until everything is translucent. Season with salt & pepper.

Add herbs and stir to coat.

STEP 2

Pour in stock and add bay leaves. Bring to a low simmer for 10 minutes until things start to smell good.

STEP 3

Add tomatoes, Worcestershire and lemon. Stir and let simmer. Let this cook as long as possible. The longer, the better. Season with salt & pepper. But at a minimum, cook for 20 minutes.

STEP 4

Pat the salmon dry. Drizzle the top with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place the filet on a baking sheet lined with foil. Bake 10 minutes or until flaky.

STEP 5

Serve fish hot over rice smothered with the creole sauce. Top with fresh parsley.