The Essential James Beard Cookbook (38 page)

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

In certain French recipes, instead of being poached in court bouillon or wine and water, fish fillets are poached in undiluted wine, dry vermouth, or sometimes spirits. The aromatic cooking liquid becomes the basis for a rich and flavorful sauce.

4 large fillets of sole, folded in half, point-to-point

1¼ cups dry vermouth

4 large egg yolks

8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes

3 tablespoons heavy cream

Kosher salt

Measure the thickness of the folded fillets, then arrange them in large skillet in one layer. Add the vermouth, which should just cover them, bring to the boiling point, reduce the heat, and poach, allowing 10 minutes per measured inch, until just cooked through. Transfer the fillets with a spatula to a large flameproof baking dish and keep warm in a 200°F oven. Increase the heat to high and reduce the cooking liquid until it is reduced to 3 tablespoons and practically a glaze.

Put the egg yolks and pieces of butter in the top of a double boiler over barely simmering water. Beat with a wire whisk or electric hand beater until smooth and thickened, then beat in the cream, reduced cooking liquid, and salt to taste. Don’t let the water boil at any time or the eggs will curdle. Pour the sauce over the fillets and brown the top quickly under a hot broiler.

WALNUT-BREADED SOLE

MAKES 6 SERVINGS

The walnuts, especially if you can get black walnuts, lend a satisfying crunchiness and flavor to the fish. Serve the fillets with boiled or steamed potatoes and perhaps a cucumber salad.

6 large fillets of sole, flounder, or other white fish

All-purpose flour

2 large eggs

3 tablespoons heavy cream

1 cup fresh bread crumbs

1½ cups coarsely chopped walnuts, preferably black walnuts

6 tablespoons Clarified Butter (see box,
here
), or 3 tablespoons unsalted butter and 3 tablespoons oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Lemon wedges, for serving

Flour the fillets lightly. Lightly beat the eggs in a wide shallow bowl and mix in the cream. Put the crumbs in another wide shallow bowl, and the walnuts in a third bowl. Dip the fillets in the egg-cream mixture, then into the crumbs, and then the nuts. Arrange on cookie sheets lined with waxed paper and let stand for a few minutes to set the coating.

Heat the clarified butter, or butter and oil, until hot but not smoking, add the fillets, 2 or 3 at a time (do not crowd the pan), and sauté until lightly browned on one side, then turn, using a broad-bladed spatula, and sauté the second side. Keep warm in a 200°F oven while cooking the remaining fish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste and serve at once, with the lemon wedges.

Editor: Black walnuts are readily available online from such purveyors as Hammons Product Company, online at
www.black-walnuts.com
, or phone (1-888-429-6887).

SAUTÉED FISH STEAKS

Swordfish, salmon, and halibut steaks are excellent candidates for sautéing. Have the steaks cut 1 to 1½ inches thick from the best, center part of the fish (if the fish is very large, divide the steaks in half before or after cooking) and allow one steak or half a steak, according to size, for each serving. Measure the fish at the thickest point and allow 10 minutes cooking time per inch.

For
2 large or 4 medium swordfish, salmon or halibut steaks
, heat
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter
and
¼ cup olive oil
in a large, heavy skillet until the fat is hot but not smoking. [
Editor: Reduce the butter and oil to 2 tablespoons each, if you wish.
]

Add the steaks and cook over medium-high heat for the allotted time, turning them once halfway during the cooking, until lightly browned on the outside. Serve with additional
melted butter
and
chopped parsley
,
lemon wedges
, and
boiled or sautéed potatoes
. If you prefer a sauce with the steaks, skip the melted butter and have a
H
ollandaise
or
Béarnaise Sauce
.

SHAD ROE POACHED IN BUTTER

MAKES 6 SERVINGS

Editor: Shad roe, which is only available for a couple of weeks, signals the arrival of spring. It is important to cook the roe in a covered pan, as it splatters quite a bit.

3 good-size pairs shad roe

12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) unsalted butter

3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Lemon wedges, for serving

Toast, for serving

Using scissors, carefully cut the pair of roe sacs in half lengthwise by snipping through the membrane separating the sacs. Use a heavy skillet with a cover. Melt the butter over medium heat, and bathe each roe in the butter. Cover the skillet and cook, turning once, until the roe are golden on both sides, 12 to 15 minutes total. Transfer to a hot platter. Add the chopped parsley to the butter and season with salt and pepper. Spoon over the roe. Serve with the lemon wedges and toast.

SOLIANKA

(RUSSIAN–PACIFIC NORTHWEST FISH STEW)

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

This fish stew, introduced to the Pacific Northwest by Russian immigrants, became very popular in Oregon and Washington, where it is made with salmon from the Columbia River.

2 pounds fish bones and heads, or 2-pound bony fish with head (not salmon)

1½ quarts water

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 large ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped

7 tablespoons (½ stick plus 3 tablespoons) unsalted butter

1½ pounds salmon, cut in strips

2 medium yellow onions, finely chopped

4 dill pickles, finely chopped

1 tablespoon pitted and chopped black Mediterranean olives

1 tablespoon pitted and chopped green Mediterranean olives

2 teaspoons drained nonpareil capers

1 bay leaf

Additional chopped green or black olives, finely chopped flat-leaf parsley, and lemon slices, for serving

Simmer the fish bones and heads in the water, well seasoned with salt and pepper, for 1½ hours. Strain the broth and reserve. Simmer the tomatoes in 3 tablespoons of the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat for 15 minutes. Season to taste.

Arrange the salmon strips in a deep pot with the tomatoes, onions, pickles, olives, and capers. Cover with the fish broth, add the bay leaf, and simmer 12 to 15 minutes. Add the remaining 4 tablespoons butter. Discard the bay leaf and serve in bowls, garnished with the chopped olives, chopped parsley, and lemon slices.

MUSSELS MARINIÈRE

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

This is far and away the most popular of all the mussel dishes served in French restaurants in this country, yet surprisingly few people make it at home, considering how easy it is. Maybe they are daunted by the thought of having to scrub and debeard the mussels. But the result is well worth the time and effort. All you need with this is plenty of hot crusty French bread to sop up all the goodness.

Editor: Farm-raised mussels, such as the Prince Edward Island variety do not have beards, so you will not have to go through the chore of removing them.

2 quarts mussels

1 to 1½ cups dry white wine

1 large onion, finely chopped

¹
⁄
₃
cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

¹
⁄
₈
teaspoon dried thyme

Freshly ground black pepper

Scrub the mussels well with a kitchen brush or scouring pad and scrape off any encrustations on the shells. Wash them thoroughly in several changes of water and pull or snip off the beards—the stringy black thread attached to the shells.

Put the mussels in a deep, heavy pot with the wine, onion, ¼ cup of the chopped parsley, 4 tablespoons of the butter, the thyme, and a couple of grinds of pepper—no salt; the mussel liquid will be salty enough. Cover and cook over medium-low heat, shaking the pot often, just until the shells open, 8 or 10 minutes. Transfer the opened mussels, in their shells, to a big tureen, add the remaining 4 tablespoons butter and tablespoon chopped parsley to the pan to heat, and taste for salt as you do so. Pour the liquid over the mussels. To serve, ladle the mussels and their broth into deep soup plates.

VARIATION

MUSSELS MARINIÈRE WITH GARLIC.
Instead of onion, use 4 or 5 finely chopped garlic cloves.

Boiled Lobsters

Once an East Coast delicacy, lobsters are now shipped all over the country. Most lobsters sold in markets weigh a pound to a pound and a half, but it is definitely worth buying larger lobsters if you can find them. Always look for lobsters that are active and lively, for these give the best eating. If your fish market can pick out the females, they are preferable for they have the coral, or roe. Ask to have the claws tied, if that has not been done already, so you will have no trouble with the beast. Count on one lobster per person.

You will need a large pot—an 8-quart size, or larger if you are cooking more than a couple of lobsters. Fill it about half full of water, season with
3 tablespoons salt
, and bring to a boil. Grasp the lobsters firmly behind the head and sink them into the boiling water. This assures a sudden death. After the water returns to a boil, boil the lobsters for 4 minutes for the first pound and 3 minutes more for each additional pound.

Don’t cool the lobsters in the water or they will be overcooked. Remove them immediately and serve hot or, if you are serving cold lobster, let cool.

If you are serving them hot, cut off a little piece of the shell at the head and drain the liquid from inside. Then split the lobsters in half lengthwise with a heavy chef’s knife, remove the dark intestinal vein that runs down the center of the body, and crack the claws with lobster or nut crackers. Leave the tomalley (the greenish liver) and any coral (the bright red roe) in the shell.

Serve the lobsters with
melted butter
,
wedges of lemon
,
good bread
, and
chilled white wine
. Provide lobster crackers and picks for winkling the meat from the claws.

If you are serving them cold, split and crack the lobsters and serve with
Mayonnaise
.

FRIED OYSTERS

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

Unsalted butter or butter and vegetable oil

3 large eggs

3 tablespoons heavy cream

3 to 4 cups freshly rolled cracker crumbs

1 quart freshly opened oysters of medium size (about 24 oysters)

Kosher and freshly ground black pepper

Lemon wedges or
Tartar Sauce
, for serving

Heat enough butter or mixed butter and oil in a heavy 12-inch skillet, preferably cast iron, to a depth of half an inch. Lightly beat the eggs in a medium bowl and mix in the cream. Put the cracker crumbs in another bowl. Dip the oysters in the egg-cream mixture, then roll them in the cracker crumbs. Arrange on cookie sheets lined with waxed paper. Let them stand several minutes for the coating to set. Drop them into the hot fat, a few at a time so as not to crowd the skillet, and fry just long enough to brown the coating and heat them through, no more than a minute or two. Remove, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and serve on plates with lemon wedges or tartar sauce. Allow 6 or more oysters, according to appetite.

VARIATION

OYSTER LOAVES.
For each serving, use an oblong roll, either crusty French or Italian or soft white. Cut off the top crust about 1 inch down from the top and remove nearly all the crumb from the bottom half. Butter both pieces well. Place on a baking sheet and toast in a preheated 350°F oven for about 10 minutes. Fill the bottom of each loaf with fried oysters and replace the top. Serve with lemon wedges and tartar sauce.