I’m forever running to the grocery store to pick up a few last minute ingredients that inevitably turn into a buggy full. 

You know this drill. 

Other than to enforce an Eat Out of the Fridge/Pantry Week (which we do out of necessity every other month or so) I can’t seem to break this. 

So while I am guilty of veering off the shopping list path…on occasion I’m so glad I did.  Flounder fillets were not on the list, but when they look as bright and fresh as these did….there’s a change in our dinner plans. 

I had recently paired Cheesy Garlic & Herb Pull-Apart Bread with store-bought, ready-made and delicious Cajun Crab Dip. 

So considering I had run into the store for 3 items and now had a pound of flounder in the buggy…I had no problem at all picking up a tub of this goodness or you could make this Maryland Crab Dip, which would be delicious with the flounder.

When we entered the Winter Thyme season, I declared a Spice Exploration was in order.  It was time for me to get to know spices the way I had fallen in love with fresh herbs. 

Peri Peri

During one of my favorite Sundays with Shelby outings, she and I discovered Penzey’s Spices.  I’ve since revisited Penzey’s and one of my selections (from their over 200 varieties) was Peri Peri.  After reading the label I knew Peri Peri would turn our Crab Stuffed Flounder into a dish worth posting.  Let me share the description of this amazing spice blend, straight from Penzey’s website.

“Awesomely hot and spicy North African-style hot
pepper blend. Also known as berbere or bere bere.
No salt, no mild paprika, just a lot of Cayenne Red
Pepper with the rich flavors of fenugreek and
cardamom. It’s not just hot, it’s peri peri hot.
Hand-mixed from: cayenne red pepper, garlic, ginger,
fenugreek, cardamom, cumin, black pepper, allspice,
turmeric, cloves, Ceylon cinnamon and coriander.”

While peri peri does have it’s own unique heat derived mostly from the cayenne pepper, when added to a rich cream sauce the other list of spices in this blend make it more about the flavor and less about spicy hot.  Peri peri has earned a spot on our counter, next to salt and pepper….that’s how good it is.

We had this dish a couple weeks ago and couldn’t wait to share it. Then I discovered that February 18th was National Crab Stuffed Flounder Day and I had to hold off posting until today. 

If you don’t have a Penzey’s Spices near you, all of their products can be ordered online at www.penzeys.com.

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All my best,
xo Libby

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Crab Stuffed Flounder {with Peri Peri Cream Sauce}

You'll love this tender crab stuffed flounder topped with a spicy cream sauce.

Course Main Course

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

For the Stuffed Flounder

• 1 pound flounder fillets 3-4 fillets
• 1 cup prepared Cajun Crab Dip or Maryland Crab Dip (recipe link in post)
• 1/2 teaspoon Peri Peri seasoning can sub berbere or cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon olive oil for greasing baking dish

For the Peri Peri Cream Sauce

• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 2 Tablespoons flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon Peri Peri seasoning

For Serving

• 4 servings Cooked pasta or rice
• 2 scallions thinly sliced for garnish
• 1 small handfull fresh cilantro or parsley chopped for garnish

Instructions

For the Stuffed Flounder

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Rinse and pat dry flounder fillets. Equally divide crab dip and place at the end of each flounder fillet and gently roll. Place seam side down in a lightly greased baking dish. Sprinkle flounder with Peri Peri seasoning. Bake for 25 minutes.

For the Peri Peri Cream Sauce

• Melt butter in a saute pan over medium heat. Add flour, stirring constantly until bubbly. Whisk in milk, Peri Peri seasoning, and salt and cook until sauce has thickened, whisking constantly. Remove from heat.

For Serving

• To serve, place the stuffed flounder on a bed of pasta or rice, spoon cream sauce over each fillet. Garnish with sliced scallions and chopped cilantro or parsley.

The post Crab Stuffed Flounder {with Peri Peri Cream Sauce} appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

One of our favorite dishes enjoyed at Desta Ethiopian Kitchen was Miser.  Red lentils stewed in a rich spicy berbere sauce with onion, garlic, and ginger.  I set out to recreate this warm and flavorful dish from the ground up.

Here is my version of the Berbere spice blend (pronounced burr-burr-ee and meaning “hot”).  I slightly adapted this recipe from Epicurious according to the spices I had on hand and reduced it by half.

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Berbere {Ethiopian Spice Mix}

Author Adapted from Epicurious

Ingredients

• 2 Tbl. Peri Peri or ground Serrano pepper
• 4 Tbl. paprika
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. ginger
• 1/4 tsp. ground cardamom
• 1/4 tsp. ground fenugreek seed or yellow mustard
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• pinch clove
• pinch garlic powder
• pinch cinnamon
• pinch allspice

Instructions

• Combine all spices and store in an air tight container.

The post Berbere {Ethiopian Spice Mix} appeared first on Lemony Thyme.