Tag: fish

John Dory or Saint-Pierre

20 April 2023

Not the prettiest of fish, but according to some the most delicious. Its meat is delicate, moist, dense, melt-in-your-mouth, a touch sweet and flavourful. It is one of the ingredients of a traditional Bouillabaisse.
The head of a John Dory (Saint-Pierre, San Martiño) is relatively large. Saint-Pierre is a fairly expensive fish and knowing that you will discard a significant part of it makes the Saint-Pierre even more expensive.

The shape of a Saint-Pierre could give you the impression that it’s a flat fish, but actually it’s a round fish. You will also notice that the spines on its fins look rather nasty. These two aspects make filleting a Saint-Pierre difficult. Our fish monger offered to do this for us, which we happily accepted.

Given the price (we paid €125,00 per kilo fillet) you don’t want to make mistakes when preparing it. Fortunately frying Saint-Pierre only requires a bit of patience and attention (it’s easily overcooked). 

We enjoyed our Saint-Pierre as a main course with a rich mushroom-based sauce and slow cooked fennel.

Wine Pairing

A delicious Saint-Pierre requires an equally delicious wine. We opened a bottle of Louis Jadot – Bourgogne Couvent des Jacobins – Chardonnay. The wine has fruitiness and freshness as well as structure. It has aged for some 8 months in oak barrels, giving the wine more roundness. A perfect combination with the fish, the rich sauce and the soft anise flavours of both the fennel and the chervil.
Maison Louis Jadot, producteur et négociant, based in Beaune, France, produces various quality wines from the Burgundy region and exports these to several countries including the UK and the USA.

What You Need

  • For the Fish
    • One Fillet (preferably without the skin)
    • Butter
    • Olive Oil
  • For the Sauce
    • Champignons de Paris
    • Butter
    • Cream
  • For the Slow Cooked Fennel
    • Fennel
    • Olive Oil
  • Chervil
  • Black Pepper

What You Do

Remove the outer leave(s) of the Fennel, slice top down in 4 or 8, making sure the fennel doesn’t fall apart. Warm a pan, add some olive oil and cook on very low heat for some 6 hours. 8 is also fine. Turn halfway to make sure both sides are caramelised. In parallel, do some shopping, read the papers, watch your favourite series on Netflix and be patient.
A John Dory fillet is really special, without any trouble you can divide it into three parts. One small, the other two perfect. Heat a small skillet, add some butter and fry the quartered mushrooms until golden. Reduce the heat, add cream and heat through and through. Heat a bigger skillet, add some olive oil and butter, gently fry the fillets until brown and nearly done. Transfer to the oven at 50 °C or 120 °F. Fill a glass with water, add the creamy mushroom mixture to the pan and immediately add some water. The sauce will thicken quickly so you need your glass of water on standby. Add some black pepper and lots of chervil leaves. Mix. Happy with the sauce? Now it’s time to plate up. Some sauce, the John Dory on top, the quartered fennel, some extra black pepper and more chervil.

John Dory or Saint-Pierre with Fennel ©cadwu

Rose Fish

19 December 2022

One of our favourite starters! It’s light, full of flavours and it comes with various textures. The homemade pickled radishes are refreshing in combination with the fish and the mushrooms.

There are many names for the fish we use: rose fish, Norway haddock (perhaps because of its Latin name Sebastes norvegicus), ocean perch, roodbaars, Rotbarsch, vanlig uer and sébaste orangé. The meat is firm and flaky, the taste is fairly neutral with a touch of sweetness. Ideal to combine with shiitake and a light soy sauce.
The fillets are difficult to fry because the skin is rather thin and ideally you want it to become crispy and keep some of its beautiful colour.

Wine Pairing

A Chardonnay or Chenin Blanc with a touch of oak will be a perfect match with the mushrooms and the fish. Full bodied, elegant, balanced and with the aromas of ripe yellow fruit.
We enjoyed a glass of Révélation Pays d’Oc Chardonnay 2021, produced by Badet Clément with our Rose Fish and Shiitake.

What You Need

  • For the Rose Fish
    • two small Fillets of Rose Fish 
    • Olive Oil
  • For the Mushroom Mix
    • 100 grams Shiitake
    • 1 scallion
    • Light Soy Sauce
    • Olive Oil
    • Sesame Oil
  • For the Pickled Radishes
    • Red Radishes
    • Shallot
    • White Wine Vinegar
    • Sugar

What You Do – Pickled Radishes

Take a cup of white wine vinegar, add it to a bowl, add sugar, perhaps some water (depending on the acidity of the vinegar), mix very well and taste. The mixture should be both sweet and sour. Slice the radishes and chop the shallot. Add to the mixture, stir and leave in the refrigerator for a few hours. Over time the colours will blend. The vegetables will keep well for a few days.
Feel free to use the same approach with other (firm) small vegetables.

What You Do – Mushrooms

Clean the shiitake, remove the stems and chop. Fry in olive oil until juicy and soft. Add the chopped scallion. After a few minutes add some light soy sauce and one or two teaspoons of sesame oil. Tate and adjust.

What You Do – Rose Fish

Heat a non-stick pan and fry the fish in olive oil. Best is to start with the meat side, push the meat towards the pan and fry until nearly done. Turn the fish, fry for a few seconds and serve immediately on a hot plate with the mushrooms and pickles.

Rose Fish ©cadwu
Rose Fish ©cadwu

Weever

10 November 2022

Fish and Chips, such a tasty combination, especially when the fish is fried with beer-based batter and served with triple-cooked chips, mushy peas and tartare sauce. Commonly it is made with cod or haddock. We prefer haddock because of its flavour and more importantly its texture. Both haddock and cod are expensive and in these days of high inflation we are keen to find a cheap alternative.

That’s why we recently tried this dish with weever, also known as Pieterman in Dutch and Vive in French. We were not disappointed, not at all. Excellent texture, taste a bit stronger compared to haddock but nevertheless yummy.
Weever is actually a really interesting fish. Weevers hide in the sand, waiting for prey. Their defence is based on a poisonous dorsal fin which makes it very painful when you step on it or want to get gold of them. Therefore it is unpopular with anglers, making it bycatch. And because of that, weever is not expensive. Great combination: save money and enjoy delicious food!

Drink Pairing

A nice, cold beer will go very well with this dish. Wine wise the choice is yours: unoaked Chardonnay, Semillon, dry Riesling, Rueda, Chenin Blanc or Picpoul de Pinet. The wine must be fresh, a touch citrussy and have balanced acidity.

What You Need

  • For the Haddock, Cod or Weever
    • Boneless Fillet
    • All Purpose Flour
    • Breadcrumbs (see below)
    • Egg
    • Butter
    • Olive Oil
    • Black Pepper
  • For the Pickled Radish
    • Red Radishes
    • Shallot
    • White Wine Vinegar
    • Sugar
  • Mayonnaise

What You Do – Pickled Radish

Take a cup of white wine vinegar, add it to a bowl, add sugar, perhaps some water (depending on the acidity of the vinegar), mix very well and taste. The mixture should be both sweet and sour. Slice the radishes and the shallot. Add to the mixture, stir and leave in the refrigerator for a few hours. Over time the colours will blend. The vegetables will keep well for a few days.
Feel free to use the same approach with other (firm) small vegetables. 

What You Do – Haddock, Cod or Weever

Pat the fillet dry with kitchen paper. Check if there are really no bones. Take three plates, one with flour, one with beaten egg, one with breadcrumbs. Coat the fillet with flour, then dip it into the egg mixture and finally coat with the crumbs. Fry in hot butter (with olive oil) until lovely golden brown. Serve immediately on a warm plate.

What You Do – Breadcrumbs

Also known as chapelure. Use old, stale but originally very tasty bread. Obviously, we use our home-made bread.
Toast the bread and let cool. Cut in smaller bits and then use a cutter or blender to make the crumbs. They keep very well in the freezer, so best to make in advance, when you have some left over bread.

Haddock ©cadwu
Animal_drawings_collected_by_Felix_Platter

Mackerel Paté

20 October 2022

A late afternoon, you’re in a rush, on your way to the supermarket, something to eat for dinner plus something to enjoy with crackers and a glass of white wine. That’s the moment to be tempted to buy ready-made tapenade, guacamole or fish paté. It’s easier, much quicker and you don’t need to worry about ingredients and recipes. Very true. On the other hand, we also know that most of these ready-made products contain far too much salt plus additives you simply don’t want to eat.

Making your own guacamole is simple, making your own mackerel paté is even simpler.

What You Need

  • 1 Smoked Mackerel Fillet
  • Greek Yoghurt
  • Mayonnaise
  • 5 Cornichons
  • Black Pepper
  • Lemon Juice

What You Do

If you use the brown fat of the mackerel, then your paté will be a touch bitter and you’ll still taste mackerel hours after you’ve eaten it. Therefore, we remove the brown fat and disgard it. Use a fork to divide the fillet in smaller chunks, remove any bones left. Add to a bowl. Thinly slice the cornichons. Add cornichons, a splash of lemon juice, black pepper, one small tablespoon of yoghurt and two small tablespoons of mayonnaise and mix, using a fork. Taste and adjust. Use cling foil to seal the bowl, transfer to the refrigerator and let cool. Serve with thinly sliced bread or crackers.

Mackarel Paté ©cadwu
Mackarel Paté ©cadwu

Fish Cakes

1 July 2022

They are so tempting! The crunchy crust, the flaky texture and the flavour, especially when combined with mayonnaise and lemon. When we see them at the supermarket or at the fishmonger, we can’t always resist buying them. But we should resist the temptation because most fish cakes should be called salty potato cakes. Hardly any fish, limited herbs, the structure of mashed potato and lots of salt to disguise the lack of real flavour.

It’s not a lot of work to prepare your own fish cakes, so be brave and ignore the factory-made ones. The recipe is very flexible, you could make a Thai version (Tod Mun Pla) with lemon grass, red curry, onions and garlic, a traditional version with stockfish, or cakes with salmon, with shrimps etcetera. To be served with Tartar sauce, sweet chili sauce, dill sauce or perhaps hoisin. We prefer Jean Beddington‘s fish cakes (served with a beetroot chutney) or a more traditional version that focuses on the fish, with herbs and black pepper in a supporting role, breaded with our home-made breadcrumbs.

Wine Pairing

Let’s be flexible, a nice glass of beer or a not too complex white wine, it’s all fine. The salad, its dressing and the lemon will be rather present. Perhaps a Verdejo, Pinot Blanc or a Picpoul de Pinet?

What You Need

  • For the Cakes
    • 225 grams of Haddock
    • 100 grams of Potato
    • 1 egg yolk
    • Parsley
    • Chives
    • Black Pepper
    • Butter
  • 1 Egg
  • Breadcrumbs
  • Olive Oil and Butter
  • Salad with a dressing made of Olive Oil and White Wine Vinegar
  • Mayonnaise
  • Lemon

What You Do

It’s best to make the mixture one day ahead. This allows for the flavours to integrate.
Gently fry the haddock in butter. You’re looking for a light golden color, just to give it some extra flavour. When nearly done, transfer to a plate and let cool. Cook the potato until soft. Let cool. Use a fish knive to make fish flakes. Use a fork to mash the potato. Chop lots of parsley and chives. Combine fish (and its juices), potato, egg yolk, herbs and a generous amount of black pepper. Let cool and store in the refrigerator until the next day.
Beat the egg, add a few drops of lemon to the mayonnaise and heat a heavy iron skillet or a non-stick pan. Make 4 fish cakes. Coat them with egg, then cover with breadcrumbs and fry in butter and/or olive oil on all sides. In total 6-10 minutes. Serve with a salad, mayonnaise and a wedge of lemon.

PS

Making your own breadcrumbs is simple and worthwhile. The breadcrumbs at the supermarket are made of cardboard; yet another product you shouldn’t buy. Toast slices of old bread and let cool. Cut in smaller bits and then use a cutter or blender to make the crumbs. Done. They keep very well in the freezer.

Fish Cakes ©cadwu
Haddock, from the Fish from American Waters series (N8) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands, 1889

Fish Cakes by Jean Beddington

20 February 2022

Jean Beddington: a culinary, passionate creative! She was chef at five restaurants, owned her own successful restaurant, and still is an inspiration to many. One of her motto’s is ‘seemingly simple’, not with the intention to impress but with the intention to surprise and enhance the sensation when enjoying her food and the way it is presented.

Background

In her book Absolutely Jean Beddington she writes about her background, her youth in England, her eagerness to cook, the holidays with her father when they would stay at budget hotels and eat at Michelin Star restaurants, her travels, her years in Japan and her education (she studied Arts and Chemistry). When she moved to the Netherlands, she decided to become a chef, which is the obvious choice for someone with such a talent. She was one of the first to bring new ingredients to the classic French cuisine. For instance, she began using cilantro and yuzu. She was also inspired by the Japanese way of presenting food: beautifully designed and served on a variety of plates. She began doing this when most guests still expected bread and garlic butter at the beginning of their lunch or dinner.

Books

She published several books. One is dedicated to stock: the basis of soups, sauces and dishes. She explains how to make stock and how to create delicious food, for instance green vegetables in stock with couscous, yogurt and harissa sauce. 

Her book Absolutely Jean Beddington is very dear to us. It has three main chapters: the first one is called Glossy with beautifully presented food, the second one is called Real Time with food as you could expect to eat at her restaurant (which is closed, unfortunately) and our favourite chapter is called Daily. Indeed, recipes that are easy to follow and help prepare tasty, wonderful food, every day.

Fish Cakes

We prepared her fish cakes with a beetroot, ginger, apple and onion chutney. The fish cakes are intriguing and the chutney is the perfect accompaniment. Yummy!

Fish Cakes ©cadwu
Absolutely Jean Beddington

Cod and Horn of Plenty

22 September 2021

The magic of a great combination: only two ingredients supported by butter, olive oil and white pepper. It made us think of James Tanner’s inspiring Take 5 Ingredients. Sometimes you need various cooking techniques and lots of ingredients. Sometimes the combination of only 5 ingredients is all you need to make a perfect dish.

Why perfect? Both the fish and the mushroom are clearly present and nicely balanced. As if the combination brings out the best of both. The butter supports the richness of the fish and the aromas are delicate. The texture of the cod is soft and a touch flaky; the Trompettes de la Mort have a more fibrous and chewy texture. Excellent mouthfeel!

Wine Pairing

You’re looking for a wine that has minerality, a touch of oak and has sufficient body and length, for instance a Chardonnay.
We enjoyed our Cod and Horn of Plenty with a glass of Chablis, Antonin Rodet, Premier Cru, Montmains. It has a clear and pale gold colour. It comes with mineral notes and a touch of lemon. The taste is delicate and persistent with aromas of fresh citrus. It goes very well with the ‘long’ taste of the dish and the citrus is ideal with the cod and butter.

What You Need

  • 150 grams of Cod
  • 100 grams of Horn of Plenty
  • Butter
  • Olive Oil
  • White Pepper

What You Do

Make sure the mushrooms are fresh and dry. They become soggy and smelly easily. Clean the mushrooms thoroughly with a piece of kitchen paper. This can be time consuming. You may want to cut the cod in two. Fry the cod in olive oil with some butter in a non-stick pan. In a second pan fry the mushrooms in olive oil. This may take 5 minutes or so. Transfer the mushrooms from the pan to a warm plate with kitchen paper. When the cod is ready, serve immediately on a warm plate with some white pepper and sprinkle the mushrooms on top.

  • Cod and Horn of Plenty ©cadwu
    Cod and Horn of Plenty ©cadwu
  • Horn of Plenty ©cadwu
    Horn of Plenty ©cadwu

Cod with Bleu d’Auvergne

17 March 2021

Bleu d’Auvergne is amongst our favourite cheeses. It’s creamy, semi-hard, moist, powerful, pungent and not too salty. It was created around 1850 in France when a farmer combined cow milk curd with the mould of rye bread. He also noticed that the cheese benefits from increased aeration using needles (similar to the process used when making Stilton cheese). Nowadays Bleu d’Auvergne is a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), just like the other excellent cheeses from that region (for example Saint-Nectaire and Cantal).
For some reason Bleu d’Auvergne combines extremely well with cod. We tried other combinations, experimented with adding butter, cream or crème fraîche but we always return to this one. It’s a tribute to both the fish and the cheese.

Wine Pairing

The combination may be very specific; wine pairing is not too difficult. In general a fairly present, white wine will be great choice. Could be a Verdejo from Spain, a mildly oaked Chardonnay or a glass of your favourite white wine. No reason to open a bottle of Chablis; the flavours are too bold for a really elegant wine.

What You Need

  • Skinless Cod Loin
  • Bleu d’Auvergne (preferable mature)
  • Olive Oil

What You Do

Heat a heavy cast iron skillet through and through, add olive oil, dry the cod with kitchen paper and fry on the firm side (where the skin used to be) until it’s nice and golden. Flip the fish, reduce the heat and start adding chunks of cheese. It will melt, but make sure you still have these blue bits in there. Baste the fish with the melting cheese. Check the cuisson of the cod (the fish must be opaque and flaky) and serve on a warm plate.

  • Cod with Bleu d’Auvergne ©cadwu
    Cod with Bleu d’Auvergne ©cadwu
  • Blue d'Auvergne ©cadwu
    Blue d’Auvergne ©cadwu

Lentils with Cod and Cilantro

24 February 2021

Lentils are healthy, easy to work with, not expensive, nutritious and high in fiber, protein and iron. Lentils have been around for a long time, so you would expect lentils to be popular, but for some reason they are not. Lentils can be used to prepare soups, salads, dahl, burgers, curry, biscuits (sablés) and so much more.
The three basic types are Green or Brown lentils, Red lentils and Black or Beluga lentils. Red lentils are often dehusked and then split, making them perfect for cooking soup.

In most cases we prefer Du Puy lentil from Sabarot because of their great taste and the fact that they hold their beautiful shape, even when cooked. Sabarot also produces lentil flour; ideal for biscuits, pancakes and waffles.

Beware of fake Du Puy lentils! They have names like ‘Le Puy lentils’ or ‘Dupuis lentils’. All nasty marketing. The real Du Puy lentils come with an Appellation d’Origine Controlee (Protected Designation of Origin).

Wine Pairing

We very much enjoyed a glass of Spanish Verdejo. In our case a bottle of Monteabellón Rueda 2019. In general wines made from the Verdejo grape combine very well with fish. The wine comes with the right acidity, giving freshness to the wine. It has floral aromas typical for the Verdejo grape. You may also recognize the aromas of banana and exotic fruit.

What You Need

  • Shallot
  • Olive Oil
  • Cilantro Seeds
  • Green, Du Puy or Beluga Lentils
  • Mild Fish Stock
  • Cod
  • Butter
  • Fresh Cilantro
  • White Pepper

What You Do

Chop the shallot (seize lentil) and glaze gently in olive oil. In the mean time check the lentils for small pebbles; wash them. Once the shallot is glazed, add the lentils and the crushed cilantro seeds. Heat for a few minutes, as you would do with risotto rice. Add the mild fish stock and leave to simmer on low heat for approximately 20 minutes, depending on the size (and your preference of course). In parallel fry the cod in butter in a non-stick pan. Just before the lentils are ready, add half of the finely cut cilantro to the lentils and mix.
Timing is all. The lentils should be cooked, all liquid evaporated and absorbed and the cod just done. Meaning the cod is opaque and the flakes can be separated easily. And overcooked meaning you can see those nasty small white bits of egg white and the fish becomes dry.
Serve the cod on top of the lentils and sprinkle some cilantro over the lentils and cod. Maybe add a touch of white pepper.

PS In case you think cilantro tastes like soap, feel free to replace the fresh cilantro with parsley. Cilantro seeds do not trigger the soap-like taste.

Lentils with Cod and Cilantro ©cadwu
Du Puy Lentils AOP AOC © cadwu
Verdejo Monteabellon Rueda 2016 © cadwu
Ingredients of Cod with Lentils, Cilantro and Parsley © cadwu

Cod with Kimizu Sauce

1 October 2020

Fashion

Isn’t it interesting how our preferences for aromas and flavours change over time, influenced of course by producers, restaurants and chefs. In general we prefer dry white wine, we think a ragout made of pied de moutons, morels, Comté, oranges, bread crumbs and samphire is really intriguing and why not serve tea with your main dish?
Years ago we probably would have loved poached cod with Hollandaise Sauce and a small carrot sautéed in butter accompanied by a glass of Muscadet. But not today. No poached fish and no soft buttery carrots.
Fashion is about change; not improvement.

Let’s revisit the fish with Hollandaise Sauce and give it a ‘modern’ twist: we very gently fry the fish and serve it with a delightful Kimizu.

We mentioned Kimizu earlier when we wrote about White Asparagus. In this case we will make the sauce lighter by adding extra water. It’s wonderful to see and feel the consistency of the Kimizu in combination with the soft, opaque fish.

Wine Pairing

We enjoyed our fish with a glass of Chardonnay, produced by Antonin Rodet. The wine is made from 100% chardonnay grapes. Its aromas made us think of peach. It has clear floral notes. The taste is rich, with flavours of ripe fruit, subtle oak  and minerality.
In general we would suggest a chardonnay with a little oak and a long finish.

What You Need

  • For the Fish
    • Fresh Cod
    • Olive Oil
    • Butter
    • White Pepper
  • For the Kimizu
    • 2 Egg Yolks
    • 1,5 tablespoon of Rice Vinegar (depending on the size of the egg yolks and the acidity of the vinegar)
    • 3 tablespoons of Water
    • 2 teaspoons of Mirin (1 could also be fine, depending on your taste)

What You Do

Warm a non-stick frying pan. Lightly coat the pan with olive oil and butter and then place the pan over medium-high heat. Gently fry until nearly done. Best would be to buy tail end with the skin on, allowing you to fry the fish on its skin. Turn it for a few seconds, allowing for a light golden colour. The fish is ready when the flesh has become opaque.
In parallel whisk the two egg yolks, add the rice vinegar, the mirin and the water. Whisk well. Now set your microwave to 90 seconds and 30% power. Give the mixture 10 seconds and whisk, Repeat this with 5 seconds of warmth followed by whisking. You will notice the change in the consistency. Depending on the size of the eggs, the temperature of the ingredients and the quality of your microwave this may take something like 60 seconds.
Serve the fish with white pepper and a generous helping of kimizu. And if it makes you smile, please add some carrots, sautéed in butter!

Cod with Kimizu ©cadwu
Cod with Kimizu ©cadwu