Friday, July 22, 2016

Citrus-Poached Fish

It has been hot here in Massachusetts lately. I do not have air-conditioning (I have lots of fans and windows that open on both sides of the house, but it’s not the same, believe me). And there’s a heat wave scheduled for today, and tomorrow, and . . .  So lately my thoughts have run to recipes that involve a minimum of heat to prepare.

Oh, all right, it's not Massachusetts. But this
is how it feels!

Sure, I could grill food outside, but for a few weeks it’s been only me at home (spouse has been gallivanting around the world to exotic places where other people prepare his food for him), and it seems a waste to stoke up the Weber to grill one pathetic piece of chicken.

So, I looked to fish. Cooks quickly. Adapts to just about any flavor. Healthy. Over the years I’ve provided MLK readers with a lot of fish recipes, from creamy to spicy. Well, here’s yet another one!


Citrus-Poached Fish

(This recipe serves four; I made a half recipe)


Ingredients:

3 lemons
1-1/2 cups chicken broth
2 Tblsp dry white wine
1/2 cup chopped shallots
2 Tblsp fresh dill
2 Tblsp drained capers (note: the capers were in short supply in my pantry, so I added a few green peppercorns to spice things ups)
4 fish fillets (a generous pound total)—you can use any firm-fleshed white fish, such as cod. I chose pollock, because at our market this week it was wild-caught and never frozen.
4 tsp olive oil
Salt to taste

Slice one of the lemons in half and squeeze to make 2 Tblsp juice. Slice the remaining lemons thinly.



In a large skillet, combine the broth, wine, lemon juice and shallots. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil for 2 minutes, then reduce the heat and simmer for another ten minutes. Stir in the dill and capers.

Dill

Place the fillets in the liquid. Drizzle with the olive oil and lay the lemon slices on top. Simmer, loosely covered, until the fish flakes easily (this should take about 5 minutes, depending on the thickness of your fillets).

Ready to cook
Taste the broth and add salt if needed. Serve with rice or couscous, and spoon some of the cooking liquid over the fish.




This is the next book, Seeds of Deception, coming from Berkley Prime Crime in October. As you can guess from the cover, it takes place in winter.

In this I've managed to combine Monticello and the Mafia, and the town where I went to high school. It was a lot of fun to write.

You can pre-order it at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.


As it happens, I'm working on two other books at the moment: the next County Cork mystery, Winters Past, also set in winter (with a blizzard!); and the next Relatively Dead mystery (still nameless), which takes place in October. Good planning, right? At least I can think cool thoughts while I swelter at my keyboard.

12 comments:

  1. I like to make fish when it's hot out. No one wants anything heavy for dinner.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Exactly. I do have a perforated pan that I can use to cook fish on the grill, but as I said, it's silly to do it for one. But hubby is back now!

      Delete
  2. Great title, Sheila. The fish looks delicious! ~ Daryl

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And those seeds were planted a long time ago...

      Yes, the fish was tasty. And you could add whatever herbs you like.

      Delete
  3. Pat D (patdupuy@yahoo.com)July 22, 2016 at 1:48 PM

    I like the looks of this recipe! I'll have to buy some capers though. Will dried dill work as well as fresh?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brain melt: I thought I'd answered this. Yes, dried dill is fine, as long as it's not too old (just smell it--if you can't smell anything from the jar, toss it and find some more). I did once save a jar of my mother's dill for a very long time, mostly out of sentiment. It had no flavor at all.

      Delete
  4. Like the base for the fillets. Still with temps in 90's we've tried a 1 for 2 summer fish dush. Grill salmon for 2 days. Day 1 is grilled fish, veggies, corn , sliced tomatoes with fresh basil. Day 2 is remaining fish cubed over spring mix. Balsamic dressing tops off dish. Culinary idea is to not use kitchen stove but grill outside and stay cool inside.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That sounds both logical and tasty. It's great to get two meals from one cooking, isn't it? I do that with chicken a lot.

      Delete
  5. I love books set in winter! I love winter! I love snow! I love walking in snow! I love seeing snow!

    (I'm so tired of summer and heat...)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I second that emotion! I have more boots than sandals. And I do love long-simmered stews and sauces--in winter.

      Delete
  6. This sounds lovely.
    If you want to kick it up a notch, get Better Than Bouillon's lobster flavor and use it for the broth.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Great idea. I've used some Better Than Bouillon flavors but not that one. I've also used canned lobster stock now and then. It would kick things up a bit!

      Delete