Cajun blackened salmon (saumon noirci)

discovered blackened salmon on my first trip to Texas. We were loitering in a shopping mall waiting on Aunt Lou to finish her shopping when I saw a sign for a Cajun restaurant. I simply had to check it out because you don't find that kind of food in the Old World. Blackened salmon became love at first bite.

Actually, there is a bit of tragic history behind this dish. French-speaking Acadian settlers in what we call now New Brunswick and Nova Scotia were forcefully evicted from their lands when the English took over in 1713. Some of them came fleeing to Texas. They held on to their traditions, and very importantly, their cuisine.

I admire its rustic sophistication. It combines simple ingredients with inventful spices and more advanced ways of cooking than you would expect from country folks. Although this recipe was invented in the 1980s by Paul Prudhomme, it was since wholeheartedly embraced as a truly Cajun dish.

1. Cut a whole salmon half-an-inch thick. I use imperial measures here because 1.27cm would be too cumbersome to say.
   
2. Melt about 100 g unsalted butter.
3. Heat a cast iron frying pan very, very hot. I consider it ready for action when it starts smoking. I use a griddle skillet for the lovely sear marks.
4. Dip salmon pieces in melted butter and sprinkle moderately with Tony Chachere's Cajun Frying Spice or in the mix of 1 tbsp powder garlic, 1 tbsp onion powder, 1 tbsp ground paprica, 1 tbsp black pepper and 1 tbsp white pepper.
5. Yank salmon on the hot pan. Watch out as it can flare up. Fry about 1 minute on each side.
6. Serve with fried or baked potatoes.
   

Here is a piece of traditional Cajun music to accompany this flavourful meal: