Showing posts with label Marseilles Bouillabaisse. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Marseilles Bouillabaisse. Show all posts

Cigale de Mer – The Slipper Lobster. The Slipper Lobster on French Menus.

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

 
The small slipper lobster
        
The Cigale de Mer,  Macietta or Chambri.
The slipper lobster.
  
In the area of Marseilles  the slipper lobsters are called chambri and there their tails will end up in a true Marseilles Bouillabaisse; in the area of Nice the small slipper lobsters are called macietta, and there their tails will probably be in a soup or served in a manner similar to one of the dishes noted below. 

Slipper lobsters are a whole family of short-clawed lobsters with a very distant relationship to the two-clawed lobster. The cigale de mer that are on many menus in the South of France are all caught in the Mediterranean.  Most are about 20cm (8”) in length or less and all the meat is in the tail, the “queue.”  The tail is the last third of the overall length, that’s about 7cm (3”). If a single small tail is served as the plat principal, the main course, you may be hungry.  Ask the waiter how the dish is served.

Cigale in your French-English travel dictionary.

Your French-English dictionary will translate cigale as a cicada, grasshopper or locust. However, worry not; the cigale de mer is nothing like a cicada, grasshopper or locust neither in its looks nor in its feeding habits. French culinary tradition is full of names given to dishes and or their ingredients that have no connection at all to the real looks or  the formal name.  Slipper lobsters are fairly close to the rock lobster and spiny lobster family called the langouste in French. The rock and spiny lobsters are the owners of the tasty lobster tail.  The two-clawed lobster, homard in French, is a far more distant family member.
   
Cigale de Mer – The small slipper lobster.
   
The slipper lobster tail and the rock lobster tail.
   
Slipper lobster tails are often prepared with recipes created for rock lobster tails. The meat of the Mediterranean slipper lobster’s tail is tasty, but they are smaller than rock lobster tails, often much smaller. They are also a little tougher than most rock lobster’s tails.

 Marseilles Bouillabaisse and the slipper lobster.
 
The most famous dish that includes the slipper lobster is the Marseilles Bouillabaisse.  This very special saffron and garlic fish stew dish is based on the rascasse, the scorpion fish, and other fish cooked in a special fish stock and served along with a spicy, garlicky, thick, rouille sauce added by the diner to his or her taste. To preserve this traditional dish and expose many inaccurate additions a group of chefs and restaurateurs set out the Charter of the Bouillabaisse Marseillaise.
   
Bouillabaisse
https://www.flickr.com/photos/birdies-perch/407676260/  
       
In the Charter, the only authorized crustacean is the cigale de mer, the small slipper lobster. Nevertheless, despite the charter, many restaurants that prepare Bouillabaisse today still add to the dish other crustaceans, fish, and seafood that were never part of the original recipe. Despite these restaurant's disrespect for tradition, you will not suffer if the additions are well prepared.
  
The slipper lobster on French menus:

Cigales de Mer aux Pâtes Fraiches – The meat from a slipper lobster tail served with fresh pasta.
 
Queues de Cigale de Mer Grillées – Grilled slipper lobster tails.
   
Queue de Cigale de Mer Rôtie au Beurre de Persil dans une Marinière de Coquillages aux Légumes  - A slipper lobster tail roasted in parsley butter and served with mussels  and vegetables prepared in the manner of a mariner.  In French culinary tradition, a dish prepared for a mariner will usually come with a white wine sauce. Other shellfish may also be included in this menu listing.  Ask.
    
Queues de Cigales de Mer Grillées, Sauce Tamarin et Lime -  Grilled slipper lobster  tails served with a sauce made from the tamarind, the fruit,  and lime juice.  (The tamarind fruit seen on French menus comes mostly from France’s Indian Ocean region of La Réunion). From the outside the tamarind is rather unattractive, to say the least. Nevertheless, inside, apart from the seeds the pulp is appreciated as a fruit juice and is also dried and used in tisanes, fruit teas, while for the commercial food industry the tamarind is a very important. The tamarind is used in the food industry for flavor with many other food products and is one of the ingredients of Worcestershire Sauce. 
   
The tamarind fruit.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mmmavocado/4254551148/
      
Queue de Cigale Rôtie, Risotto  Safran et Croustillant de Kadaïf - Roasted slipper lobster tail, served with a saffron risotto and crispy Kadaïf. 
(Kadaïf is a pasta like vermicelli, those very thin pasta strands also called angels’ hair, made from wheat flour, corn starch, salt, and water. It is also called knafeh, konofa, and kadaïfia among many similar names. Kadaïf is seen all over North Africa and the Middle East as well as in Turkey and Greece and Albania.  Many different kadaïf pastries, both savory and sweet, are traditional.  The sweet pastries come with added sugar syrup and honey).
    
Shrimps, when cooked, have meat that will be white, pinkish or bluish-white and firm when cooked.  If it you are served a shrimp that is soft or pasty then it is not fresh; do not eat it. Send it back. Do not eat pasty shrimps unless they are being sold as fish paste! en Kedaïf
   
Queues de Cigales de Mer Sautées aux Cornes d’Abondance et Cresson  - Slipper lobster tails lightly fried with wild black trumpet mushrooms and watercress.
    
There are over ninety members of the slipper lobster found in warm waters all around the world.  The Cigale de Mer has been over-fished and has been protected in French waters since 1999.
   
Two Cigales de Mer, slipper lobsters.
  
Small slipper lobsters are mostly caught by accident when trawling the sea bottom for sole and flounder. The fishermen and women who set out their pots to catch the spiny lobster are pleased that only rarely does the relatively inexpensive slipper lobster find its way into their  spiny lobster pots. 
    
The Cigale de Mer, the Mediterranean slipper lobster in the languages of France’s neighbors:
(Catalan - escil·làrids), (Dutch - scyllaridae),  (German –bärenkrebs), (Italian – cicala di mar or magnosella), (Spanish – esciláridos, santiaguiños).
     
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Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com 
Copyright 2010, 2016, 2024.

  

 

Rascasse - The Scorpion or Sea Robin family of fishes in French cuisine.

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

 


Red  Scorpion fish.
    
The secret behind many of the wonderful fish soups along France’s Mediterranean coast is down to the Racasse, the Scorpion fish. Members of the Scorpion fish family are found all over the world, and those in the Mediterranean and along France’s Atlantic coast are considered to be among the tastiest.  The smaller of these fish are essential for the flavor they give to Bouillabaisse and other French fish soups.  The larger fish may also be in the soup or they may make the menu on their own account. 
   

Scorpion fish are not going to be swimming close to France's sandy beaches. Nevertheless, when swimming offshore and out close to rocks do not touch fish, especially if you do not know what they are.
  
The Scorpion fish’s name comes not from a stinging tail but from the poisonous barbs on the fish's dorsal fin on the back; rest assured that French fishermen and women do not handle any of these fish with their bare hands.
  
Rascasse is not a fish that is caught in large quantities. The chefs will be buying his or her fish fresh every day, and the Scorpion fish family members brought in daily will differ in size and name.  So, unless the chef wants to print a new menu every day when a member of Rascasse family is on the menu the exact name may be omitted.
    
Scorpion fish.
    
Five of the most important members of the Scorpion fish family:

 Rascasse Blanche or Uranoscope – The Stargazer or Atlantic stargazer.  This member of the Scorpion fish family is a must in a genuine Marseilles Bouillabaisse and is also a prime contender for many other fish soups. This Scorpion fish can not only sting but can generate an electric shock.
   
The Stargazer on the menu:
Filet de Rascasse Blanche Sauce Citronel et Lait de Coco au Citron Vert. Garni de Petits Légumes -  A filet from the Stargazer served with a lemon grass sauce accented with coconut milk and lime. The dish is accompanied by young vegetables.
    
Fish soup.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/cyclonebill/2855022887/sizes/m/
    
Filet de Rascasse Grillé aux Pâtes et Tomates Fraiches – Grilled filet of Scorpion fish prepared with pasta and fresh tomatoes.
    
Filet de Rascasse Grillé, Beurre aux Algues Fraîches – Grilled filet of Scorpion fish prepared with butter and fresh seaweed.
 
The Stargazer in the languages of France’s neighbors:
    
(Catalan – rata), (German – himmelsgucker), (Italian -  bocca in cielo, boca in cao, buccuni), (Spanish – rata or sapo), (Latin - uranoscopus scaber).
  

Scorpion fish on sale at Marseilles old port.
Photograph courtesy of marcovdz

Rascasse du Rond - 
The Blackberry Rosefish or Bluemouth Rockfish
     
Rascasse du Rond, Sébaste Chèvre or Rascasse du Nord - The Blackbelly Rosefish in North America and the Bluemouth Rockfish or Rockfish in the UK.  This family member is not easily caught but very welcome when it is found. They are a solitary fish and found both in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. 
    
The Blackbelly Rosefish on French menus:
   
Filet de Rascasse Poche au Basilic – Filet of Scorpion fish, poached with basil.
   
Filet de Rascasse Poêlé, Haricots Verts, Sauce Vierge – Filet of Scorpion fish served with France’s favorite green beans and Sauce Vierge.   The name of the sauce Sauce Vierge translates as a virgin sauce, and that comes from the use of virgin olive oil.  For this sauce along with virgin olive oil will be fresh tomatoes, garlic, lemon juice, basil, red wine vinegar, salt and black pepper. The sauce will be served slightly warm but not cooked as olive oil loses flavor when cooked. N.B. There is no point in cooking in any virgin olive oil; heat destroys their unique flavor; just use  any good olive oil for cooking and virgin olive oil for cold dishes.
   

Ready for the soup.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/hirondellecanada/3164858800/sizes/m/
   
The Blackberry Rosefish or Bluemouth Rockfish in the languages of France’s neighbors:
     
(Catalan – penegal), (Dutch - blauwkeeltje ),(German - blaumaul, blaumäulchen), (Italian -  scarpena, scorpena bastarda), (Spanish – cabra, cabra de altura, gallineta), (Latin - helicolenus dactylopterus). 
  
Rascasse Rouge - The Red Scorpion Fish
    
Rascasse Rouge, Truie, Chapon, Chapon de Mer - The Large Scaled Scorpion Fish, the Red Scorpion Fish or Orange Scorpion Fish.  In Marseilles, the local fishmongers in the old port offered me their local name for this fish: Chapon and Chapon de Mer. This fish is another essential ingredient in a genuine Marseilles Bouillabaisse.  The smaller members of this family member will definitely be in the soup, but the larger ones that may grow up to 3 kilos may be offered in filets, fried, grilled or baked.
     
Filet de Rascasse Rouge, Gratin de Fenouil et Cebette –  Filet of red Rascasse, served with baked and browned fennel and spring onions.  
   
Piperade de Rascasse - Scorpion Fish cooked in a Piperade. Piperade is a traditional Basque dish made with their Piment d'Espelette AOP , the Basque red peppers, fried along with onions, green peppers, garlic and tomatoes all fried in olive oil. Here the fish is prepared and served with the piperade.
    
Tronçon De Rascasse Chapon Poêlée, Jus Corsé Au Nouilly Prat, Jeunes Pousses De Légumes – A wide cut of the Red Scorpion Fish lightly fried and served with a sauce made from the natural cooking juices and Nouilly Prat, France’s famous vermouth. The fish is accompanied by the young shoots of fresh vegetables.
   

Grilled Scorpion fish
https://www.flickr.com/photos/alextorrenegra/4628354710/sizes/l
   
The Red Scorpion Fish in the languages of France’s neighbors:
   
(Catalan - cap-roig), (German – meersau, roter drachenkopf ), (Italian - scarpena rossa, scorfano mediterraneo, scorfano maggiore),  (Spanish –cabracho, escarapote, gallineta), (Latin - scorpaena scrofa).
  


Grondin Perlon - Tub Gurnard or Sea Robin 
      
Grondin Perlon, Gallinette, Grondin Gallinette -  Tub Gurnard in UK and Sea Robin in the USA. This member of the Scorpion fish family is also caught in the Atlantic and is will often on the menu on its own. It is a bony fish but very highly valued for its flavor. While Rascasse is not part of its French name this fish is definitely part of the Scorpion fish family.
    

Scorpion fish.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/joi/6457780091/sizes/m/
   
Grondin Perlon, Ragoût De Fèves Et Petits Pois, Bisque Émulsionnée  - Tub Gunard prepared with a stew of fava bean, also called the butter or broad bean, and young peas. The whole stew is prepared like a thick bisque.
   
Ravioli Au Grondin Perlon Et Tomate Cerises   - Ravioli made with the meat from the Tub Gunard and cherry tomatoes.
   
Grondin Perlon Rôti, Bouillon De Légumes Aux Lingots Du Nord – Roasted Grondin Perlon served in a vegetable soup made with vegetables and the Lingots du Nord, a close family member of France’s favorite white beans grown in the North of France.
   
The Tub Gurnard or Sea Robin in the languages of France’s neighbors:
   
(Catalan - lluerna rossa),  (Dutch - rode poon), (German - roter knurrhahn, seeschwalbe), (Italian - capone gallinella ), (Spanish - alfondiga ), (Latin - chelidonichthys lucerna). 


Bouillabaisse
https://www.flickr.com/photos/andreea_blog/161939889/sizes/m/


 Petite Rascasse Rouge - The Small Red Scorpion Fish.
   
 Petite Rascasse Rouge, Rascasse Pustuleuse, Scorpène -  The small red Scorpion fish, this a very tasty small fish.  It is rarely over 10cm and will be headed for the soup; very rarely will these small fish be on the menu.
    
The small red Scorpion Fish in the Languages of France’s neighbors:
    
(Catalan – captinyós), (German -  kleiner roter drachenkopf), (Italian -  scarpegna rossa), (Spanish -  gallineta), (Latin - scorpaena notata). 
   
---------------------------------------------------------

Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

 

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

 

Copyright 2010, 2016, 2019
    
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