05 September 2014

A Fishy Idea

Poached Fish with Cucumbers and Cream

For the cucumbers and cream:
3 medium cucumbers
1 Tbsp. salt
1½ cups cream
1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard (or more to taste)
3 sprigs fresh tarragon (or 1 Tbsp. dried)

For the poached fish:
1 cup white wine
1 cup water
2 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
salt and black pepper to taste
1 small shallot or onion, sliced
1 bay leaf
2 fish fillets (cod, in this case)

Peel, seed, and slice the cucumbers. Sprinkle salt over the cucumber slices and leave them to sit for 1 hour. Then rinse the cucumbers in a colander under running water to remove the extra salt.

Combine the cream, mustard, and tarragon in a saucepan over medium heat. When the cream is simmering, add the cucumbers and cook for 8 to 10 minutes. Taste the cream and season as needed with salt and pepper.

Pour the wine, water, and vinegar into a pan over medium heat to make what is called a court bouillon. Season with salt and pepper along with the bay leaf and shallot. Bring the wine to a boil and cook it for 3 or 4 minutes to blend the flavors.

Reduce the heat to low and lay the fish fillets in the liquid. Simmer gently until the fish flakes easily with a fork — 7 to 10 minutes depending on the thickness of the fillets.

Serve the fish fillets over the cooked cucumbers with rice or steamed new potatoes on the side.

10 comments:

  1. I've never tried cooked cucumber. I wonder if I would digest it that way? This sounds like a great recipe. Was it any good? Lol

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  2. We both thought it was delicious. Don't you think it's the cucumber seeds that don't agree with your digestive system? I've cooked cucumber before -- stuffed as you would stuff zucchini, and then baked in the oven. That was good too.

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  3. I've never had an opportunity to try cooked dukes. Anything in cream appeals to me.

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  4. The picture was so enticing I actually read the recipe (OK... SOME of the recipe). But, I'm passing this one onto the chef. Thanks.

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  5. Enjoy, Mitch. I hope St. G. likes the idea.

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  6. Thank you Ken....
    that will use three of them...
    so we'll need to eat it at least five times to get rid of the backlog...
    unless I make some cuke sorbet!!
    I'll start with some of the salmon that is in the freezer...
    there's rather a lot of that too...
    Simply Market whole salmon at 5€ the kilo...
    13€ has already done soup and rissole mix with cod...
    [the latter used to stuff courgettes...
    but I think that might taste good with cukes if baked].
    We've the tail and 24 paves left.
    Just need to get the cream....

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