Marmite Dieppoise (1) : The Recipe

Recipe (serve 4 to 6 persons)
Ingredients :

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 leek, chopped
• 2 tomatoes, peeled
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 liter / 1 ¾ pints water
• 40 grams / 1 ½ oz butter
• 2 tablespoons crème fraiche
• 30 grams / 1 oz plain flour
• ½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper
• ½ teaspoon fresh chopped fennel
• Large pinch of salt
• Teaspoon of fresh chopped parsley
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• ½ teaspoon mild curry powder
• 4 fillets of burbot (Ling or Pollock or any “cod” like white fish can be used instead)
• 4 fillets of turbot
• 4 Dublin Bay prawns (also known as langoustines)
• 4 large scallops
• 4 fillets of sole
• 1 liter of mussels (already cooked in the Marinière style)
• A few cooked shell on prawns to decorate

Variations : for mussels à la Marinière, some recipes[1] call for dry cider instead of white wine, which provides a more regional touch, Cider being a regional beverage from Normandy.
Butter and Cream should be from the village of Isigny (high quality dairy products owning the AOC label[2])

Procedure :

• Put the chopped onions and leeks in a pan with the butter; add the tomatoes and then sauté until soft.
• Add the water, salt and Cayenne pepper, then the fish; burbot and turbot first, then the Dublin Bay prawns, followed by the scallops and finally the sole fillets.
• In another pan, gently melt the butter and add the flour to make a roux. Add the juices form the cooked fish and the Moules Marinières, little by little, stirring constantly. Let simmer over a gentle heat for 5 minutes.
• Finally add the crème fraiche, the fennel, the parsley, the curry powder, a little more cayenne and a pinch more salt. Simmer for another minute.
• Place the cooked fish fillets, prawns and scallops in a large dish and pour the sauce over the top. (You can also serve this in separate smaller bowls)
  Place the warm cooked shell on prawns and mussels on as decoration and sprinkle the paprika on top.
• Serve with fresh new potatoes, and crusty French bread.
• Ideally eaten with a good Sancerre or Normandy cider

This recipe puts great emphasis on spices, cayenne pepper, paprika or curry. The tradition of exotic seasoning in Norman cooking goes back to the days of the spice trade with the Far East, when French ports were a gateway to northern Europe and Dieppe was a center for ivory carving[1].

[1] The Book of French cooking (Dione Lucas) or The Food of France (Waverley Root)

[2] Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (French label of high quality for wine andfood)