12:54 PM 2/22/98

Shad Roe in Caper and Dill sauce

Source:  "The Seafood Cookbook:  Classic to Contemporary"  by Pierre
Franey & Bryan Miller

4 pairs shad roe (about 1/2 pound each)
8 T unsalted butter
4 T finely choped shallots
4 T dry white win {guess I'll have to substitute grape juice - LOL}
2 c. zucchini cut into 1 1/2 x 1/4 inch julienne strips
s&p
1/2 c. Fish Broth or bottle clam juice
4 T drained capers
2 T finely chopped fresh dill leaves

1.  Preheat oven to 450
2.  Prick holes all over the shad roe w/ a fork or trussing needle
3.  Rub 4 T of the butter over the bottom of a baking dish large enuf
to hold the roe in 1 layer.  Sprinkle the shallots over the bottom of
the dish & arrange the roe over them.  Sprinkle all with the wine.
Distribute the zuke in the dish & dust w/ s&p.  Pour in the fish
broth.  Cover the dish w/ Al foil, seal tightly, & place on the bottom
rack of the oven.
4.  Bake for 10-15 min, depending on the size of the roe.  After 10
min open the foil to check for doneness.  The roe should have lost its
raw look.  Reseal, if nec, & cont baking.
5.  Remove the roe to warm serving dishes.  Pour any accumulated
cooking liquid into a saucepan & add the remaining butter, capers, &
dill.  Stir well.  Bring to a boil & pour the hot sauce over the roe.
Serve immediately.

Yield:  4 main-course servings or 8 appetizer servings

I made this 4/94 & wrote "v. good" by the recipe.



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Here's a recipe which I think sounds yummy, but I've never made it.
It from "Cuisine for All Seasons" by Helen Hecht who is a friend of
mine.  She is my Interior Designer, having moved on from writing
cookbooks to ID.  I hate her because she is so talented!!! LOL
BTW, Helen says in the intro to this recipe that shad is a highly
perishable (North Atlantic) fish & must be eaten soon after it is
caught - maybe that's the reason you can't get it in the hinterlands!
It is available only in the spring when the fish enter the rivers
along the coast to breed.


Shad with Roe & Asparagus Mousse Filling

For this recipe, baked shad fillets encase sauteed roe and an
asparagus mousse filling that is subtly flavored with mint.  The dish
is served with a light Mint & Chive Mousseline Sauce.

1/2 T unsalted butter
1 pair shad roe
Oilve oil
2 large shad fillets (1 pound each)
2 T minced fresh chives
1 T minced fresh mint leaves
1 T lemon joice
Salt
Mint & Chive Mousseline Sauce (recipe follows)

For the Asparagus Filling:
1 1/2 lb. fresh asparagus
salt
1 1/2 T unsalted butter
2 T flour
1/2 c sour cream
1 egg yol, lightly beaten
2 t lemon juice
1/2 c fine, fresh bread crumbs
2 T minced, fresh mint leaves

For the Garnish:
watercress
lemon wedges

To make the asparagus filling, (I'm gonna skip the obvious stuff, like
washing & trimming the asparagus -- this is a labor of love, this
recipe is quite long!!)  Cook the asparagus until just tender.  Drain
well & cut 3/4 inch off the tipes. Cut each tip in half lengthwise &
reserve.  Chosp the stems course & puree them in a fud processor.
Turn into a mixing bowl & drain off any excess liquid that accumulates
at the bottom of the bowl.  Melt the butter & blend in the flour.  Add
the sour cream & cook, stirring, until the mixture simmers & thickens.
Add the egg yolk off the heat, return to the stove, & cook over low
heat, stirring, for c. 5 min.  Do not allow to simmer.  Remove from
the heat, add 2 t lemon juice, the bread crumbs, 2 T minced mint, &
salt to taste.  Stir in the pureed asparagus & reserved asparagus tips
& refrigerate until cool & thickened.

Melt 1/2 T butter, add the roe, cover, & cook over med heat for 4 min
on each side.  Remove from the heat & reserve.  The roe will be
partially cooked, not cooked thru.

Oil the bottom of a baking dish.  Cut six 12" lengths of kitchen
string & lay them across the bottom of the dish at 2" intervals.  Lay
one shad fillet, skin side down, over the string.  Cover with half the
asparagus mousse.  Separate the 2 sections of roe & lay them end to
end along the length of the shad, on top of the mousse.  Spread the
rest of the mousse over the roe.  Place the other shad fillet, skin
side up, on top of the filling, puttling out the flaps of each fillet
to make sides.  Tie with the string.  Sprinkle the chives, 1 T mint
leaves, 1 T lemon juice, & a little salt over the fish.  Cover the pan
tightly with the Al foil & bake for 40 min (hmmmmm......I don't see
any temp.......I can call Helen if you like).  Transfer to a heated
platter & remove the strings.  Garnish with the H2Ocress & lemon
wedges.  Serve the Mint & Chive Mousseline Sauce on the side.  

Yield:  6 servings.

Mint & Chive Mousseline Sauce

An herb-flavored hollandaise with whipped cream folded in.  My method
of making the hollandaise is unorthodox, but it works.  (that is from
the c/b.)  The sauce can be made a few hours b4 serving.

4 egg yolks
1/4 # unsalted butter
2 T lemon juice
1 t minced fresh chives
2 t minced fresh mint
salt
fresh-ground white pepper
1/4 c heavy cream

All the ingredients, except the herbs, should be well-chilled.  Make
the sauce 1 or 2 hours b4 serving.  Lightly beat the egg yolks in a
small, heavy saucepan or skillet.  (Enameled iron is best; do not use
alum.)  Add the stick of butter in 1 piece, the lemon juice, chives, &
mint.  Cook over very lo heat, stirring constantly by spearing the
stick of butter w/ a fork & swirling it around the bottom of the pan.
Keep the heat lo or the eggs will scramble.  When the butter has
melted, stir constantly with a wire whisk until the sauce is thick.
Remove from the heat & whisk for a few seconds to stop the cooking.
Season to taste, cover, & keep in a warm, but not hot, place.  Whip
the cream until it holds soft peaks.  Cover & keep at room temp.  Just
b4 serving, fold tog. the hollandaise & whipped cream & turn into a
sauceboat.

Yield:  about 1 cup

Judy says:  that is a VERY VERY hi ratio of egg yolks to butter, not
at all like Julia's.  I think for reg hollandaise, Julia uses 3 yolks
to up to 2 stix butter!

This is a menu c/b.  The entire menu for "A Special Dinner in Shad
Season":

Sorrel & Mint Soup
Shad with Roe & Asparagus Mousse Filling
Mint & Chive Mousseline Sauce
Steamed Fiddleheads or Steamed Peas [I was all excited to try
fiddlheads once but did NOT like them & was mightly disappointed]
Green Salad with H2Ocress
Rhubarb Sherbet with Strawberries

sounds good!!!!!!
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Judy has these recipes too.

Shad Roe Stuffed with Shrimp
Shad Roe w/ Beurre Blanc
Shad & Shad Roe in Cream Sauce w/ Capers (The "cream sauce" is heavy
cream, not a white sauce) - sounds terrible to me!!
Curried Shad Roe - yucky sounding
Shad Roe w/ Sauteed Mushrooms
Shad Roe in Stuffed Shad w/ Sauce Americaine


Do you have "James Beard's Fish Cookery"??  If not, I'll send you his
recipes.
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"Shad Roe

This is one of our finest tresats.  Strangely enuf, it is practiacally
unknown in France, where the shad is greatly appreciated, & it is not
done well in England [what is???!!!].  It seems to be a dish that has
but two extremes -- wonderful & horrible.  The mistreatment of roe may
almost always be attibuted to over-cooking.  It should never be dry,
never tasteless. [oop!!]
Roe are usually sold by the pair.  They are apt to be expensive except
at the end of the seson, when they beome plentiful.  I believe that
the only way to cook shad roe is as follows:  

SMOTHERED SHAD ROE

For 2 pair of roe, melt 6 oz of butter in a covered skillet.  When the
butter is melted & warm, but not hot, dip the roe in it & arrange them
in the pan.  Cover & simmer over a low flame for c. 12-15 min, turning
once.  Season to tase w/ s & p & chopped parsley.  Serve w/ lemon
wedges & the butter from the pan.  Accompany this dish w/ crisp bacon
& boied tates.  This is a dinner that deserves to be enhanced by a
good bottle of Chablis or a fine Meursault."

-- Source:  James Beard's Fish Cookery, pp 177-178



