Catfish Courtbouillon

Summer 2018, and the kids scatter like crawfish dropped on a table. Luc is in his room with the door closed. Colette is at the kitchen table with her sketchbook. Rémy is outside, fishing in the drainage ditch again (still no fish, still doesn't care). The house has its summer shape: loud in the mornings, quiet in the afternoons when the heat pins everyone to the furniture, loud again at night when the sun drops and the energy returns.

I hired a fourth employee. Another apprentice — a kid named DeShawn Williams, nineteen, just out of high school, recommended by Marcus's cousin. He showed up for the interview in work boots that were already broken in, which told me he wasn't afraid of work, and when I asked him why he wanted to be an electrician, he said, "Because the lights come on when I do my job right, and I can see it." That answer. That specific, concrete, see-the-result answer. I hired him because I recognized it. I said the same thing to my first foreman in 2004: "I like that when I'm done, the lights work." DeShawn is me at nineteen. The universe is efficient.

The strip mall job is done. All eight units wired, inspected, and occupancy certificates issued. The disco ball works. The karate guy is happy. I invoiced the final payment and deposited it and looked at the number and thought about Joey, who would have been proud and also baffled, because Joey was a man who measured wealth in fish caught and sunsets watched, not in invoices, and he would have said, "C'est bon, cher, but when are you going fishing?" And he would have been right. I haven't been fishing in a month. That changes this weekend.

Made a catfish courtbouillon — the fish stew from year one, the Friday dish, Joey's Lent dish. Catfish in a dark, tomato-based roux gravy, served over rice. I make it whenever I'm thinking about Joey, which is more often than I let on and less often than I should. The courtbouillon is a direct line from his kitchen to mine — same recipe, same techniques, same reverence for a fish that people call ugly and that I call beautiful, because beauty is in the tasting, not the looking.

With the strip mall job finally done, the invoice deposited, and DeShawn settling into the crew like he’d always been there, I needed to cook something that meant something. Not a celebration meal — a remembering meal. Joey would have told me to go fishing instead, and he’d have been right, but until this weekend I had the next best thing: his courtbouillon, the same dark roux and ugly-beautiful catfish that got me through every Friday and every Lent since he first put a spoon in my hand. Here’s how I make it.

Prep Time: 25 minutes | Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

2 pounds catfish fillets, cut into 2-inch pieces
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
3 cups fish stock or water
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon hot sauce, or to taste
3 green onions, sliced thin
2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 lemon, cut into wedges
Cooked white rice, for serving

Instructions

Make the dark roux. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the roux reaches a dark chocolate brown color, about 20 to 25 minutes. Do not walk away — a burned roux means starting over.
Build the base. Add the onion, bell pepper, and celery to the roux. Stir well and cook until the vegetables are softened, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more.
Add the tomatoes. Stir in the diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until the tomato paste darkens slightly and everything is well combined.
Pour in the stock. Add the fish stock, bay leaves, cayenne, paprika, thyme, oregano, salt, and black pepper. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the catfish. Season the catfish pieces lightly with salt and pepper. Gently nestle them into the gravy. Cover and simmer on low for 15 minutes, until the fish is cooked through and flakes easily. Avoid stirring too much — you want the pieces to hold together.
Finish and serve. Remove the bay leaves. Taste and adjust salt, pepper, and hot sauce. Ladle the courtbouillon over bowls of white rice. Top with sliced green onions and chopped parsley. Serve with lemon wedges on the side.

Nutrition (per serving)

Catfish Courtbouillon — Joey’s Friday Dish and the Recipe That Keeps Him Close