Shrimp in Champagne Reduction with Green Rice and
Molten Chocolate Souffle
We were having close friends Joe and Melissa Blanchard for dinner on Saturday. Karen had been to Charleston and went to Magwood's Seafood in Mt Pleasant and brought home fresh shrimp so the main course was set.
Note:
If you want to buy only fresh caught shrimp then Magwood Seafood is the best around. Located on Shem Creek in Mt Pleasant, SC, the address is 100 Haddrell St. and the phone number is 843.884.3352.
Joe likes rice (it is one of the few things he can cook since all he has to do is boil water and stick a bag of rice in it). So rice was going to be the starch, but since I wasn't making a creole sauce I wanted to make sure I had a rice recipe that was rich and would not be dried out.
A dessert I haven't fixed in a while is a rich chocolate souffle that used to be a staple on the menu at Commander's Palace in New Orleans. It is not complicated to make but be warned......it is heart-stoppingly rich.
As I mentioned in my earlier post about shrimp, when I peel the shrimp I save the peels and use them to make shrimp stock. The stock can be used for a variety of purposes but in this case, I use the stock to cook the rice:
Green Rice
Take four cups of shrimp stock and bring to a boil. Add two cups of basmati rice and two bay leaves then reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for around twenty minutes.
While the rice is cooking, melt a stick of butter (yes a whole stick...this is nothin.....wait until you get to the dessert!) in the sauce pan. With the butter add:
1/2 cup of green onion
1 can of artichoke hearts (canned in water not oil) drained and chopped coarsely
1/2 cup of diced green bell pepper
1 cup of diced celery
1/2 cup of chopped parsley
1 bag of baby leaf spinach, roughly chopped,stems removed and washed.
Simmer slowly until the spinach is cooked down. By this time the rice should be cooked.
In a casserole dish, combine the rice and sauteed vegetables, cover with tin foil and set aside.
Now let's prepare the dessert
Molten Chocolate Souffle
Soften 1 1/2 sticks of butter. Take two tablespoons and liberally grease six ramekins that hold six ounces.
Take the remaining butter and 1 pound of good quality semi-sweet chocolate, chopped; into to the top of a double boiler over simmering water to melt stirring periodically.
In a food processor, crack 8 eggs. Mix together the eggs and 1 1/2 cup of sugar until smooth. Add the blended butter and chocolate mixer to the food processor and blend with the egg/sugar mixer for three minutes. Add 1 1/2 cups of flour and blend for another three minutes. Pour the mixture into the six ramekins, place on a cookie sheet, cover with wax paper and set aside.
OK, let's get ready to cook the shrimp and eat.
Shrimp in Champagne Reduction
In a large saute pan, put 3 tablespoons of olive olive oil. Add 4 or 5 thin slices of fresh ginger. Heat the olive oil over a low fire and and gently "sweat" the ginger for 5 minutes or so to infuse the ginger into the olive oil. Add the shrimp and continue to saute over low heat until the shrimp are barely pink. Be careful not to have too hot a fire or cook the shrimp too long or they will be tough.
Remove the shrimp and ginger from the oil, and add to the pan:
1/2 cup of chopped green onion
1/2 cup of chopped red bell pepper
1 tablespoon of mince shallots
2 tablespoons of chopped parsley
Saute until the vegetables are cooked, about 3 minutes. Add three cups of champagne. Increase the heat until the champagne is simmering briskly. Reduce the champagne to about 2 cups. Turn of the burner and add the shrimp to the pan. Then add two tablespoons of cold butter and stir in to incorporate into the liquid to make a sauce.
Remove the rice from the oven and put a serving of rice in the middle of the dinner plate and top with a serving of the shrimp and serve.
While eating the shrimp, place the baking sheet with the souffles in the oven at 350 degrees. Let them cook while eating the main course. Check after 30 minutes. When the souffles are puffed and a toothpick can be inserted and removed cleanly, remove from the oven.
Carefully invert a ramekin over a desert plate and remove the souffle from the ramekin onto the plate. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve. The outside will be nicely baked and the inside should be a gooey, "molten" chocolate.
What am I pouring with this?
We started with a vintage 2003 rose' champagne from Pommery. That was my offerring.
Now Joe has an excellent cellar which includes a diverse selection of white wines. He selected three very different French whites: one from Alsace, one from the Northern Rhone Valley and one from Bordeaux.
The clear winner was the Laville Haut-Brion from Bordeaux. The Alsatian wine and the Condrieu from the Rhone were too sweet for the dish although excellent representatives of their Appelations.
Since most of us don't have access to these kinds of wine, I would suggest, as always, anything that doesn't over-power the food. That immediately rules out California Chardonnay which, as those of you who know me, know I consider the worst wine bottled. Look for a sauvignon blanc from France or South America. From South America, look for the wines from the Mendoza region of Argentina. There is a Spanish white made from the Albarino grape which would also go nicely with the shrimp. The Spanish wines are reasonably priced and quite good.
The wines from Spain and Argentina aren't easy to fine but are worth looking for. If you are local, check with Bryan at the Gourmet Shop.
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