Last night, I dusted some Shad Roe in the leftover Cajun seasoning I made recently for a Green Gumbo, which I cooked over low heat in bacon fat, then threw in some ramps and had with some Green Rice (Basmati rice cooked with spinach and green onions) that I learned to make at a Weekend Kitchen cooking class on Friday night. It was great!
Mise En Place
My last 2 lbs of ramps for this season, delivered to me by Edgar, my ramp man, yesterday afternoon; I used a handful of these:
One-half of a pair of Shad Roe, a couple slices of bacon and a dusting with Cajun spices (I used a little of a blend I made myself of 1 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp cayenne, 1 tsp celery seed,1 tsp dried thyme, 2 tsp dried oregano, 1 T garlic powder, and 2 T sweet paprika):
The ingredients for the Green Rice consist of two cups of Basmati Rice, four cups of vegetable stock, 2 T of vegetable oil, two cups of packed spinach leaves, six scallions and one large or two small garlic cloves:
Making the Green Rice
Heat the 2 T of vegetable oil (I used sunflower) over medium heat, add the 2 cups of rice, stir to coat, then add 3 cups of the vegetable stock and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes:
While the rice is cooking, slice the 6 scallions:
Add to a blender with 2 cups of packed spinach leaves, the garlic and the remaining 1 cup of vegetable stock:
Blend into a smooth liquid:
Add to rice, bring to boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes, then remove from heat and rest for at least 10 minutes, till liquid is fully absorbed and rice is tender, then fluff with a fork just before serving:
Cooking the Bacon, Shad Roe and Ramps
Clean and remove ends from a handful of ramps:
Cook a couple strips of bacon, remove to a paper towel, pour off most of the rendered fat, then cook the Shad Roe over low heat in the residual fat till medium rare (about 8 minutes, 4 minutes per side), adding ramps in last four minutes, then remove the Shad Roe and increase heat to sauté the ramps till tender:
Plate the Shad Roe and ramps with the bacon and a scoop of the Green Rice: