Tag: Mornay sauce

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Red Snapper en Mornay

Snapper en Mornay was one of the most popular dishes at the old Warehouse in Oxford. We broiled snapper fillets with a rich in-house sauce, and served them with a dusting of paprika, a sprinkling of sliced almonds, and our house bread.

Make a thick Béchamel. Add grated Swiss or Provolone cheese, chopped green onions, picked lump crab meat, and a splash of sherry. Season with Lowrey’s, mix well, and chill. You’ll need about a cup of sauce for eight ounces of fish; if not snapper, use flounder or another lean white fish.

Score fillets on both sides, place on a buttered pan, cover with sauce,  and broil until fish flakes.

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Asparagus Florentine

Alas and alack, asparagus is not easily grown in the South; it’s a cool weather vegetable, fussy, and takes up a lot of room. If you’re lucky enough to know a gardener with an asparagus bed, more power to you, but the rest of us must settle with stalks from the store.

Fresh asparagus is best served simply, with butter or a simple cream sauce. This Florentine is admittedly a stretch, but given that the spears you’re likely to purchase are well past their salad days–in the most literal sense–this cream sauce–actually a Mornay–is justifiable.

Trim spears, boil in lightly-salted water until tender, drain and chill. Add grated dry cheese and cooked chopped spinach to a  thin cream sauce. Cool and spoon over spears in a lightly buttered gratin, sprinkle with a bit more grated cheese, and broil until brown and bubbly.