recipe suggestion for fish

[smilingal]

Looking for a "company" recipe for fish - thinking of fish in pastry - not with much of heavy cream sauces. I had a great recipe, planning on using it next week, but have searched everywhere where it isn't. Would love some of your favorites. I am making it alongside an apricot sesame chicken dish.

[heidih]

What kind of fish do you have access to, how many at the table, and when you say "in pastry" do you mean in a puff pastry or in a pie item? Eager to help but better with more input

[kitchensqueen]

You can't go wrong with a white fish (turbot, sole, etc.) in a buerre blanc. I also like fish en papillote - a little white wine, scallions, sun dried tomatoes... old stand-bys in my house but I do always find them company friendly.

[smilingal]

dinner will be for about 16 people - and I can buy any fish in the market - of course I guess I would appreciate a more cost-effective fish since it isn't the shining sole course!

[smilingal]

I have a cook's ilustrated recipe which looks good - my concern is that working with flounder or sole fillets and rolling them up can be a bit tedious, difficult, frustrating - and this recipe calls for overlapping all the fillets so that it becomes a long log-roll and then slice it into portions - and I am thinking not such a sure bet to look neat.

[onrushpam]

This Marcella recipe is extremely simple, but oh-so-good. I actually like it better with thyme than rosemary, but you could use whatever herb appelas to you.

[kitchensqueen]

Cod, perch, etc. are equally as good with buerre blanc and en papillote. :-)

[smilingal]

En papillote is always fun and adds that specialness to a dinner, however, with a plate full of other choices as well, there won't be room for the extra flounce of the presentation!

[Blether]

You won't do meuniere or the like for 16... isn't autumn supposed to be salmon season ? Where are you ? Do you still have summer heat ? Depending on the size of your oven, a big baked salmon (or two) will go round, you can serve hot or cold, and if it's wild it's a special treat; farmed is plenty cost-effective, if you can get good quality.

Sorry, not really a recipe. Fresh bay leaves. Black pepper. Home-made Mayo or hollandaise. Just tell the guests you invented the combination.

[percival]

For 16 how about paella or boullabaise. Easier plating. No temp sensitive cream sauces and no worry about having to portion 16 equal fillets.

[smilingal]

thanks for the great suggestions - this is needed for a dinner that will have many other components - so the fish is yet another offer for the full plate - we are starting with a mushroom soup, then moving onto a Jewish stuffed cabbage with mini meatballs, then the sesame apricot/nut chicken, a fish sample, many different sides etc etc etc.

[djyee100]

That's a lot of food, and a lot of different flavors coming at people. How about something simple for the fish course, to give people a rest? I suggest Julia Child's recipe for Fish Filets Poached in White Wine. It's in her Mastering the Art cookbook. I make the dish with sole filets, folded in half into triangles. That presentation is surprisingly attractive. The recipe is tasty and straightforward to cook, too.

If you want to do a fish in pastry, you could try some kind of fish in strudel. Beverly Gannon has a salmon strudel in her General Store cookbook, which I've never cooked (only drooled over). It's probably too heavy for your dinner, but maybe the recipe can give you some ideas. On Googlebooks, Page 21. Scroll up to Page 20 for a pic.

http://books.google.com/books?id=hUK0obUbHHYC&pg=PA21&lpg=PA21&dq=beverly+gannon+salmon+strudel&source=bl&ots=p-y5-P-dld&sig=lYnaROL_Qf4WksmykH12YKxpIII&hl=en&ei=sLqGTJSUE5L0swOFyaisCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBQQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false

[Blether]

Well, I don't know what your objection to cream is - in your place Trout in Cream would be near the top of my list. It works with salmon, too, and also will with Arctic Char if what I've read is correct. It's fillets laid flat, covered and grilled; it doesn't come across as cream-laden so much as nicely rich, and cut with the savour of chives and the savour of toasted breadcrumbs (I find I don't know how to say 'koubashii' in English), and it scales beautifully.

In the linked thread, there are umpteen other ideas.

Edited September 8, 2010 by Blether (log)

[runwestierun]

To go with the apricot sesame chicken I would either enjoy the above mentioned buerre blanc made with a fruitier white wine or a ginger garlic scallion steamed fish. I like ginger and apricot.

[smilingal]

Thanks for the great suggestions - I have settled in with a Salmon Wellington - although I wouldn't name it that - it basically is a whole 3lb fillet - making two of these - and laying it upon a rolled out puff pastry dough which has a mixture of leeks, red onions and tarragon leaves spread over it - wrapped up, brushed to look pretty and baked. Came out juicy and delicious for the experiment dinner.