flipRed Fish Court-Bouillon with Roucou
Red Fish Court-Bouillon with Roucou
Why this dish? Fish court-bouillon is the midday meal of Martinican families, and Césaire's file mentions it explicitly. Born in Basse-Pointe, on the Atlantic coast, he knew as a child these red fish caught in the morning and simmered in roucou for lunch.
Fish simmered in a red and lemony broth, colored with roucou, spiced with garlic, bay rum leaves and chili. Served with white rice and boiled green bananas.
At midday, at home, it was court-bouillon or nothing. We took the red fish still quivering from the sea of Basse-Pointe, rubbed it with lime and salt, then laid it in this blood-red broth that roucou gives. The chili, we placed it whole on top — woe to him who burst it! It is a humble dish, but know this: in that red plate there is all my Martinique, its sea, its land and its fire.
- •Red fish (snapper) — two fine fish (heart of the dish)
- •Roucou — one spoonful (color and earthy note)
- •Lime — several (acidity)
- •Garlic and onion — in abundance (aromatic base)
- •Bay rum leaves (bois d'Inde) — a few leaves (flavor)
- •Country chili — one whole (heat)
- •Tomato — two (broth binder)
Red Fish Court-Bouillon with Roucou
Fish simmered in a red and lemony broth, colored with roucou, spiced with garlic, bay rum leaves and chili. Served with white rice and boiled green bananas.
Why this dish? Fish court-bouillon is the midday meal of Martinican families, and Césaire's file mentions it explicitly. Born in Basse-Pointe, on the Atlantic coast, he knew as a child these red fish caught in the morning and simmered in roucou for lunch.
At midday, at home, it was court-bouillon or nothing. We took the red fish still quivering from the sea of Basse-Pointe, rubbed it with lime and salt, then laid it in this blood-red broth that roucou gives. The chili, we placed it whole on top — woe to him who burst it! It is a humble dish, but know this: in that red plate there is all my Martinique, its sea, its land and its fire.
Ingredients (period version)
- Red fish (snapper) — two fine fish (heart of the dish)
- Roucou — one spoonful (color and earthy note)
- Lime — several (acidity)
- Garlic and onion — in abundance (aromatic base)
- Bay rum leaves (bois d'Inde) — a few leaves (flavor)
- Country chili — one whole (heat)
- Tomato — two (broth binder)
Ingredients
- Snapper or sea bream in steaks — 800 g (heart of the dish)
- Roucou (paste or seeds) or sweet paprika — 1 tsp (color)
- Lime — 3 (acidity)
- Garlic — 4 cloves (aromatic)
- Onion — 1 large (aromatic)
- Tomatoes — 3 ripe (binder)
- Bay rum leaves or bay leaves — 3 (flavor)
- Caribbean chili — 1 whole (not pierced) (heat)
- Oil — 3 tbsp (cooking)
Method
- Rub the fish steaks with lime and salt, marinate for 20 min.
- Sauté onion and garlic in oil tinted with roucou, add crushed tomatoes and bay rum leaves.
- Add a little water, place the whole chili, let simmer for 10 min.
- Lay the fish steaks in the broth and cook for 12 to 15 min over low heat without stirring too much.
- Adjust with lime and serve with white rice and boiled green bananas.
How it was made : Roucou, seed of a shrub cultivated by Caribbean Amerindians long before colonization, was used both as body paint and culinary coloring. Creole cooks preserved it to give the court-bouillon its signature color, over wood or charcoal fires.
The contemporary twist : Plate the steak on a dome of rice, coat with the red broth and top with a thin slice of grilled lime.
Aimé Césaire · Charactorium
