Recipe: Fish Couvillion

Please refer to Mildred and Terry’s recipes before looking at mine.

After taking the advice of Mildred and Terry, who are skilled cooks, I decided to try making some Fish Couvillion. One should follow the instructions of the cook, i. e., the recipe as stated verbatim, the first time. I failed to do so for several reasons.

First, I was too busy to chop vegetables, even though I love doing so. Instead I decided to use 2 packages (10-11 ounces each) frozen seasoning blend of onions, celery, green bell peppers, red bell peppers, and parsley.

Next, I read online last night that someone in Lafayette made Couvillion with mushroom soup. I decided to add a can.

Third, my friend searched for fish firmer than catfish and selected ocean perch. Deciding that we needed more fish, I added some previously purchased catfish. Using firm and soft fish in the dish gave it a pleasing effect.

Not having any Tony’s® on hand, I turned to my dry seasoning recipes in Flavored with Love (which you can obtain by going to www.FWLCookbook.com) and selected seasonings from there. You see, Miss Mildred told me she puts a spoonful of whatever she likes in her food, and Terry has one of the biggest personal spice collections in Louisiana. Finally, I had been wanting to try some Texmati® long grain American basmati brown rice. Since Couvillion is a soft dish, I wanted the rice to have extra texture. Also the aroma, followed by the exotic flavor of basmati rice ensnares people, especially men.

I am not sorry for making any of these changes. The couvillion was an exotic Zydeco concert of Cajun flavors orchestrated to make any man who smelled it and tasted it my loyal subject forever.

We finished our meal with some white chocolate bread pudding—the kind you can find at the Grapevine Restaurant in Donaldsonville, LA. (Please go to http://amazingsouthernrestaurants.blogspot.com to read more about the Grapevine and the movie Jude Law and Sean Penn have been filming there! Go to www.fwlcookbook.com to obtain Cynthia Breaux’s original white chocolate bread pudding recipe.)

Don’t get upset about the list of ingredients, and don’t worry about careful measurements. If you don’t have these seasonings on your shelf, buy them! You will need them often. If it’s too much trouble to measure all these spices, eyeball them as you shake them into the food. This recipe is very easy, and your man will go wild over the way it tastes!

Fish Couvillion
1 tablespoon cooking oil
2 bags frozen seasoning blend (See note above.)
1 pound catfish fillets
1 pound ocean perch fillets
1½ cups all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons salt substitute
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon ground red pepper
½ teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon rosemary
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon powder
2 teaspoons curry powder
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 tablespoon dry parsley flakes
½ teaspoon thyme
2 teaspoons Splenda®
1 small can cream of mushroom soup
1 small can chopped tomatoes and green chilies (Rotel® or other brand)
1 small can tomato sauce
Water
1 cup (uncooked measurement) Texmati® long grain American basmati brown rice prepared according to directions


Toss the oil and seasoning blend into the pot to sauté while you prepare the fish.

Now prepare the fish. You may need to remove the skin. To make that job easy, microwave the fish about 30 seconds and then scrape the skin away.

Mix the flour in a bowl with a secure top. Or if you prefer, place the flour in a sealable freezer bag. Add all those dry seasonings, close the container, and shake them. Coat the fish thoroughly.

Open the 3 canned ingredients and place them near the cooking pot. Remove about ¾ of the seasoning blend, which has cooked down by now.

Assemble the couvillion in layers. The bottom layer will be the seasoning blend remaining in the pot. Continue with layers of fish, followed by a third of each of the canned ingredients. When you reach the top layer, which should be the onion mix, sprinkle the remaining flour mixture. Cover the top.

Add enough water to cover the couvillion. Cover and simmer over very low heat until the ingredients have caressed each other, the liquid has turned light brown and thick, the fish is flaky, and the flour tastes cooked. If your pot is not thick enough, you may need to lift the ingredients off the bottom to prevent sticking. Do not stir it!

Serve the dish over rice.
4 generous servings