Chesalane Shad Roe

Today I was so happy to be able to make dinner that I decided to do something fun. So (thanks, Lane!) I bought some of the in-season shad roe (see first post pic) at the Fresh Fields and the ingredients to make Lane's Shad Roe recipe. But I wanted something a little more robust. So I looked around and found a Chesapeake Bay Shad Roe recipe that sounded good. Merging the two sounded like an excellent idea, and it was. So in honor of both, I merge the titles as well. Chesapeake gets top billing because both the roe and the recipe apply.

Recipe:
(serves 2)
1 set of shad roe
3T ghee or butter (I used ghee)
3 shallots, minced
5 md button or crimini mushrooms, wiped clean and cut in half
1 decent-sized bunch of parsley, chopped
1 lemon, juiced
1 lemon, sliced thin (Lane insisted I use Meyer's lemons, and after doing so I agree)
1/2 c dry sherry
4 oz creme fraiche or sour cream
approx. 4 oz milk to thin the creme fraiche
1/2 T flour (I used rice flour to keep it gluten-free)
salt and pepper to taste

Mince the shallots and put in a bowl. Chop the parsley and add it but do not mix. Separate the parsley into two approximately equal amounts by lifting out the leaves at the top, leaving more leaves and most of the stems in the bowl with the shallots.

Melt the ghee or butter in a heavy skillet. Stir in the shallot/parsley mixture and cook slowly 1 min. Turn heat to medium, add the mushrooms, and cook 5 min more. Season with salt and a bit of pepper. Arrange the mixture so the roe can sit on top. Carefully add the roe (see picture) cover with the rest of the parsley and lemon slices (see next picture) and pour over the sherry and lemon juice. Cover and simmer 15 minutes. If the lid seals tightly, vent occasionally.

Meanwhile, in a jar or bottle mix by shaking the creme fraiche with enough milk to bring it to a heavy cream consistency. Shake in 1/2 T flour (Phil overshook and made really nice solidified cream; if you do the same, just add more milk and shake again until it's right - it is not a fail).

Preheat your broiler. (I used the low setting, with the rack about 4" from the flame)

When the time is up, carefully remove the roe and lemon slices from the pan, putting the roe on a flame-proof platter and scraping any parsley on top of the roe back into the skillet. Using a slotted spoon, remove and plate the solid parts (parsley and mushrooms).
Reduce the sauce until it is slightly thickened and pour over the roe. Pic above shows the roe with the sauce poured over. Broil 3 min. Put one roe sac on top of each plate of parsley/mushroom mix. Pour sauce over, layer lemon slices on, and serve.

(I was serving this with steamed beans and shiitake mushrooms (see last pic below), so I put the lemon slices on those and not the roe. It worked quite well, and Lane was right that the Meyer's lemons could be eaten, rind and pith and all, without trouble)

Eating Notes: Not being from the area, this was Phil and my first experience with shad roe. We really like it. We both thought it tastes more like organ meat than what our experience with roe (which, essentially, has previously been limited to sushi and caviar) has been. The fact that it is seasonal (see Lane's post linked above for more info) makes it more fun to have. I thought that the combination of Lane's cooking sauce with the Chesapeake recipe finishing sauce worked well. In the future I might add just a touch of curry or something with a bit of a bite, but as it was it was great comfort food.