July 31, 2007

He's been around the world, but John Besh (Chef-Owner, Restaurant August, Besh Steak, La Provence, and Lüke) has always valued the cooking of his native southern Louisiana—never more so than after Hurricane Katrina, when so much was destroyed and the very culture and its cuisine seemed at risk. Since then, he's been striving to preserve the local style of cooking - and its local ingredients.

The Crawfish and Andouille Grits represents a range of local products and the style of his beloved cuisine like nothing else.

Procedure: White Grits

• Bring the water to a boil and lightly season with salt.
• Add the grits while stirring rapidly and reduce heat to low.
• Simmer the grits for about 20 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
• To finish, turn on heat and stir in butter and mascapone cheese.

Procedure: Crawfish Stock

• To a large pot, add celery, carrot, onion, thyme, garlic, shells, and just enough water to cover the other ingredients.
• Simmer on low for 1 hour, skimming the fat off throughout the hour.
• Strain and reserve liquid in refrigerator.

Sautéed Crawfish and Sauce

Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
30 each large crawfish
Creole spice, to taste
salt, to taste
6 tablespoons small diced Jacob’s andouille sausage
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced shallot
2 tablespoons small diced paquillo pepper
1 tablespoon chopped thyme
30 ounces crawfish stock
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon chopped chives
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Procedure
Heat a large pan over medium heat and add the olive oil. Season the crawfish with Creole spice and sauce and sauté until they start to brown but are not cooked all the way through. Remove the crawfish and hold on the side. To the pan add the andouille sausage, garlic, shallot, paquillo pepper, and thyme and sauté until they become aromatic. add the stock and bring to a low simmer. Stir in the butter and reduce until thick. Add crawfish back to the pot and cook through. Finish with tomatoes, chives, and lemon juice.

Assembly

Ingredients
.5 cup picked chervil pluches (small three-leafed sprig of chervil)

Procedure
For each serving, place 4 tablespoons of grits in the middle of a large bowl. Arrange the crawfish (evenly divided among the plates, 5 each) in the middle so they stand up, tails facing in. Spoon the sauce around to fill in the negative space. Garnish with fresh chervil.

Serves about 6.

John Besh grew up hunting and fishing in Southern Louisiana, learning at an early age the essentials of Louisiana’s rich culinary traditions.

As a teenager, he began working in commercial kitchens, where his knowledge of food and dining truly began to blossom. “With the many cultural influences in Louisiana,” says Besh, “it’s an exciting place to learn about food.”

He has traveled the world over searching out the roots of those far-flung influences, and infuses them into the French cuisine of Restaurant August.

Each new venture gives Chef John Besh another outlet in which to focus his broad-ranging culinary passions, all of which benefit from his dedication to local products, and–though his palate has taken him around the world–reflect the multi-faceted cuisine of his beloved southern Louisiana.

Visit Chef John Besh on the web @ rest-august.com.