Poached fish with creamy lemon sauce
The beauty of this recipe is that it can be made with any fish — cod, haddock, white fish, salmon, trout, any local fish you might happen to have. If you can get skinless, boneless fish fillets, preparation takes about 10 minutes. First you make the sauce (5 minutes), then you poach the fish (5 minutes). Or a bit longer if your fish fillets are rather thick.
The sauce is a mixture of cream, butter, lemon juice, salt, pepper and chives. If you’d like a lighter version, you can use light cream. The only equipment you need is a small saucepan, a spoon, a sharp knife and a skillet large enough to hold the fillets.
Serve the fish with a vegetable purée (carrot, celeriac, finocchio, potato, pumpkin, sweet potato, zucchini), with asparagus, green beans, ratatouille or wild mushrooms, and/or the salad of your choice. For more ideas, check the site’s recipe lists for vegetables and salads.
The quantities below will serve two people.
2 fillets of any type of fish
1/4 cup (6 cl) heavy cream
2 tbsp. butter
1 lemon
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper
8 chives
Rinse the fish fillets, remove any visible bones and pat dry with paper towels. Set aside.
Heat the cream to simmering in a small saucepan. While the cream is heating, divide the butter into a few small lumps — about six. When the cream simmers, turn down the heat and add the lumps of butter one by one, stirring. As each lump melts, add another one.
Halve the lemon and squeeze it into the pot through a sieve. Stir. Add salt to taste — 1/4 tsp. if using unsalted butter, and less if using salted. Grind in some black pepper. Stir.
Lay the chives on a cutting board and slice into 1-inch (2.5 cm) segments. Add to the sauce and stir. Leave the sauce on the lowest heat possible while you poach the fish.
Add 1/2 inch (1 cm) water to the skillet. Bring to a boil. Add the fish, cover the skillet and poach for about 5 minutes, or until the fish is cooked through. You can check by inserting a knife into the thickest part of the fillet. If it is no longer translucent, the fish is done.
Transfer the fish to plates. Spoon on the sauce. Serve immediately. Serves 2.