The Essential James Beard Cookbook (37 page)

You may also split the whole fish and broil it, removing the head but leaving the backbone in (which seems to keep the juiciness and flavor). Lay the split fish, skin side down, on the oiled aluminum foil, brush the flesh well with melted butter, and broil 3 inches from the heat, allowing 10 minutes per measured inch. Do not turn the fish but baste it several times during the cooking with melted butter. Season with salt and pepper.

Estimate about ½ pound whole or split fish per serving, to allow for the inedible parts.

BROILED MARINATED HALIBUT STEAKS

MAKES 2 TO 4 SERVINGS

Thick steaks of firm-fleshed fish such as halibut or swordfish can be marinated before cooking, which gives them flavor and prevents them from drying out.

For the Marinade

6 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice

2 small garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 teaspoon dried basil

1½ teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the Fish

2 halibut steaks, 1 inch thick

Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, for garnish

To make the marinade: Combine the ingredients in a glass or pottery dish large enough to hold the halibut in one layer. Add the halibut and marinate for 2 hours, turning them two or three times in the marinade.

To cook the fish: Line a broiler pan or rack with aluminum foil; oil or butter the foil; put the steaks on the foil and broil 4 inches from the heat for 5 minutes a side, brushing with the marinade. Transfer to hot plates and sprinkle with the parsley.

COLD POACHED SALMON IN RED WINE ASPIC

MAKES 12 SERVINGS

A whole poached salmon in aspic is a glorious sight on a buffet table. You should use fish bones and heads to provide a strong, concentrated, flavorful stock with natural gelatin, and clarify it for your aspic. This recipe is rather unusual in that red wine is used in the poaching court bouillon, rather than the usual white.

Editor: Poached salmon remains one of the most elegant dishes to serve at a summer buffet. It is best to make it over a two-day period. On the first day, poach, cool, peel, and refrigerate the salmon. Also, make and reduce the stock, but refrigerate it overnight so the fat rises to the top of the stock and can be easily removed; the stock must be absolutely fat-free for the clarification to work. The next day, make the aspic and decorate the salmon. You can purchase reasonably priced fish poachers online—the stainless steel ones work just as well as the copper models. If your salmon doesn’t fit into the poacher, cut off the fish head.

For the Court Bouillon

2 to 3 pounds fish bones and heads [
Editor: Use a white-fleshed, nonoily fish, and not salmon or other dark-fleshed fish.
]

2 quarts water

4 to 5 cups dry red wine

½ cup red wine vinegar

1 medium yellow onion, peeled and stuck with 2 whole cloves

1 carrot, scraped

1 lemon, thinly sliced

1½ tablespoons kosher salt

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

2 bay leaves

¼ teaspoon whole black peppercorns

For the Salmon

6- to 7-pound cleaned and scaled salmon

2 large egg whites, lightly beaten, and 2 crushed eggshells

3 envelopes unflavored gelatin

¼ cup cold water

Thin slices of lemon, thin cucumber slices, tarragon leaves, sprigs of fresh dill, for decoration

To make the court bouillon: Combine the fish bones and heads and water in a large pot. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer until the fish practically falls apart, 1 hour or more.

Strain the fish stock into a bowl and transfer it to a fish poacher with a rack, or a roasting pan with a rack large enough to hold the salmon. Add the wine, vinegar, onion, carrot, lemon, salt, thyme, bay leaves, and peppercorns, bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.

To prepare the salmon: Measure the salmon at its thickest point to determine the cooking time (10 minutes per measured inch). Put it on the rack of the fish poacher or on a large piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil; lower it into the simmering liquid and poach at a simmer for the necessary time. Test for doneness with a fork, or toothpick. If the flesh flakes easily, it is done.

Transfer the salmon to a platter and cool completely. When cool, carefully peel off and discard all the skin, and scrape off the gray fat under the skin; put the fish on a board or serving platter, cover with plastic wrap, and chill while making the aspic.

Boil the poaching liquid rapidly until reduced to about 7 cups. Strain it through a large wire sieve lined with several thicknesses of rinsed cheesecloth into a deep saucepan. Put the saucepan in a large bowl of ice water to cool the stock. Skim off all fat from the surface of the stock. Beat the egg whites until frothy, and stir the whites and egg shells into the stock. Heat over medium heat, whisking often, until the stock comes to a boil and the egg whites rise to the surface. Remove the pan from the heat and let stand 5 minutes, to settle. Then, without agitating the stock, strain it through a large sieve lined with several fresh thicknesses of rinsed cheesecloth. Strain the clarified stock through a sieve lined with a linen towel or several thicknesses of cheesecloth into another saucepan. Reheat the stock until steaming.

Sprinkle the gelatin on the cold water in a small bowl and let stand 5 minutes, until softened. Stir it into the hot, clarified liquid until dissolved. Let the aspic mixture cool until tepid. Place the saucepan in a bowl of ice water and stir often until it starts to chill and get syrupy.

Remove the salmon from the refrigerator, take off the wrap, and coat the flesh on the best-looking side of the salmon with a thin coat of the syrupy aspic, pouring it over with a large spoon. Chill the fish until the aspic sets, then give it another coat and again chill until set. You may find when working with aspic that it gets too cold and sets. In this case, you have to melt it over very low heat and chill again until it starts to get syrupy. Decorate the fish with thin “scales” of lemon and cucumber and with sprays of tarragon leaves or sprigs of dill. Dip the decorations in aspic first so they will adhere to the coating. Then, very carefully, apply a final coat of aspic over the decorations and chill until set. Remove any aspic that ran onto the board or platter. Garnish with the tarragon leaves and dill sprigs. Leftover aspic can be chilled in a thin layer in a baking dish, chopped, and scattered around the fish. You might also serve a cucumber salad if you didn’t use cucumbers for decoration.

SARDINES WITH MINT

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

I discovered this at Le Bistrôt in Mougins, a lovely old hill town above Cannes, and asked for the recipe because it is such an unusual and delicious way to treat small fish like sardines or smelts. You could use the same stuffing in a baked whole fish, between fish steaks, or in rolled fish fillets.

12 fresh sardines or smelts

1½ pounds fresh leaf spinach, tough stems removed, well washed to remove grit

½ cup fresh bread crumbs (made in a food processor or blender from day-old bread)

¼ cup finely chopped fresh mint or 2 tablespoons crumbled dried mint

¼ cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

2 shallots, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Olive oil

Clean the fish, split and remove backbones; this is easy to do by pulling off the head—the whole bone will come with it. Cook the spinach in a large pot of boiling water for 1 minute; drain well, pressing out all the water, and chop finely. Mix the spinach with the bread crumbs, mint, parsley, shallots, and garlic, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix well. Spread the fish flat, flesh side up, and put a little bit of the stuffing on the widest end. Roll up toward the tail and pack the rolled fish tightly together in a baking dish so they can’t unroll. Brush well with the oil and bake in a preheated 425°F oven for 10 minutes, basting once or twice with oil, until the edges of the fish look opaque. Serve hot.

SAUTÉED TROUT

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

Select 4 whole trout of the same size and measure the fish from belly to backbone at the thickest point to estimate the cooking time—the rule for any kind of fish cookery is to allow 10 minutes per inch of measured thickness. A white wine such as a Muscadet or a Chardonnay is good with sautéed trout.

4 whole trout

All-purpose flour

7 tablespoons (½ stick plus 3 tablespoons) unsalted butter

¼ cup peanut or vegetable oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Lemon wedges, for serving

Put the flour on a sheet of waxed paper, add the fish and coat lightly with flour on both sides, shaking off excess. Heat 4 tablespoons of the butter and the oil in a very large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. When the butter mixture is hot but not smoking, add the fish and cook them for half the estimated cooking time over medium-high heat, then turn and cook for the remainder of time on the other side. Salt and pepper to taste as they cook. Test the fish for doneness with a fork or toothpick—if they flake easily, they are done—and transfer to a hot platter. Add the rest of the butter to the pan, swirl it around until it melts, add the parsley, and pour the sauce over the fish. Serve at once with lemon wedges.

VARIATIONS

SAUTÉED TROUT WITH HERB BUTTER:
Vary the flavoring by substituting chopped fresh dill, chives, or tarragon for the parsley.

SAUTÉED TROUT AMANDINE:
Sauté ½ to ¾ cup thinly sliced almonds in 4 tablespoons of butter in the pan in which the fish were cooked until delicately golden, shaking the pan several times and lightly salting the nuts as they cook. Spoon over the trout and serve immediately.

Editor: You might have to cook the trout in two batches, and keep the first two fish warm in a 200°F oven while sautéing the second batch. Or double the butter and oil and cook the four trout at the same time in two skillets.

GOUJONETTES OF SOLE

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

These delectable little bits of fried fish make a good first course or cocktail hors d’oeuvre, or a light luncheon entrée. The name comes from
goujons
, tiny fish fried whole, of which these are a sort of mock version.

4 to 5 fillets of sole or flounder

½ to ¾ cup all-purpose flour

3 large eggs

¼ cup half-and-half

3 cups fine fresh bread crumbs (made in a food processor or blender from day-old bread)

Vegetable oil for deep-frying

Fresh flat-leaf parsley, for garnish

Tartar Sauce
or
Rémoulade Sauce
, for serving

Cut the fillets into diagonal strips about ½ inch wide. Spread the flour in a shallow dish. Beat the eggs and half-and-half together in a second dish. Spread the bread crumbs in a third dish. Coat the strips with flour, shaking off the excess, then dip them in the egg-cream mixture and roll them in the bread crumbs, coating on all sides. Place on a waxed paper–lined baking sheet and let stand for a few minutes to set the coating.

Pour enough oil to come halfway up the sides of a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan and heat the oil to 370°F on a deep-frying thermometer. In batches (use a deep-frying basket, if you wish), add the fish and deep-fry just until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Using a wire skimmer (or the basket) remove the strips, transfer to a baking sheet lined with paper towels, and keep warm in a 200°F oven. Just before serving, garnish with the parsley and serve with tartar or rémoulade sauce.

VARIATION

GOUJONETTES IN BEER BATTER:
Omit the egg and cream mixture and the bread crumbs. Make
Beer Batter
. Dip the fish strips in the flour, then in the beer batter, and fry a delicate brown.

SOLE POACHED IN VERMOUTH