Cooking Lesson #1185: White Fish in White Wine Sauce

…from the Perspectives’ Kitchens

How you doin’? Are you afraid to cook fish? If your answer yes, then you are with the other 85 percent of home meal makers. You don’t want to overcook or undercook the fish and then you are concerned with the lingering aroma, or should I say, the stink of 3-days ago fishy smell.
 
My recipe for poaching fish is a great technique for beginners and all you “scaredy cats.” White Fish in White Wine Sauce is a hands-off approach that adds flavor while preventing the fish from being overcooked, so every bite is tender and moist.
 
My recipe only requires four ingredients and is ready in about 20 minutes. When I was much younger and before chef’s school, if someone handed me a piece of fish and asked me to cook it, I would have immediately handed it back to them. No way was I going to be responsible for the massacre that would’ve ensued from my judgmental family.
 
My fear of cooking fish was deep-rooted, and it began when I was young. I watched my mother try to bake fish that was given to her by Uncle Harry. Overcooked barracuda stewed in mushy vegetables was one of the worst meals my mother ever made. Mom’s fish was flavorless, and the texture was tough, chewy, and dry.
 
That all changed when I learned a simple cooking technique at the Corden Bleu (in Paris—aren’t you impressed?) that even the least confident cook can handle—poaching. My cooking instructor had a recipe for Fish Fillets in White Wine Sauce that became my trusted resource for this brilliantly easy method for cooking fish at Fanny’s Fish Market.
 
It took some time to get past the idea of consuming fish as anything but fried Mrs. Paul’s sticks or patties, but it finally happened shortly after moving on from the first year. Actually, I had the best English-style fish and chips yesterday at The Cod Father in Henderson, Neveda. I highly recommend them.
 
If you’re not sure where to begin when it comes to poaching fish, I suggest starting with my recipe for Fish Fillets in White Wine Sauce. The recipe only requires very few ingredients and is ready in about 20 minutes. Most of the cooking takes place in the oven, so you can use that time to prepare any other foods you plan to enjoy with your meal.
 
Ingredients
2 tablespoons finely minced shallots
2-1/2 pounds skinless and boneless sole or cod fillets, cut into serving pieces
1-1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
3/4 cups white wine
3/4 cups and chicken or fish stock
Salt and pepper, to taste
 
Directions

1. Read the recipe all the way through before starting. Measure all ingredients and have at your side.
2. Preheat an oven to 350° F.
3. Butter a 10 to 12-inch ovenproof baking dish.
4. Butter a piece of parchment paper large enough to cover the dish and set aside. Do not use aluminum foil; it will discolor the wine.
5. Sprinkle half the shallots in the bottom of the dish.
6. Season the fillets lightly with salt and pepper and arrange them in one slightly overlapping layer in the dish. If the fillets are thin, they can be folded in half to make triangles.
7. Sprinkle the fish fillets with the remaining shallots and dot with butter.
8. Pour in the wine and stock so the fish is barely covered.
9. Bring almost to a simmer on top of the stove. Lay the buttered parchment paper over the fish. Then, place the dish in the bottom third of the oven.
10. Maintain the liquid almost at a simmer for 8 to 12 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish. The fish is done when a fork pierces the flesh easily. Do not overcook; the fish should not be dry and flaky.
11. If you'd like to serve it with a sauce, remove the fillets to a plate and cover it with foil to keep warm. Return the baking dish to the stovetop and reduce the cooking liquid by about half to create a sauce to serve with the fish.
12. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper if necessary.

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ChefSecret:
Some ovens run hot and some run cold. You may need to adjust your settings to maintain the temperature for a gentle poach. If your fillets are thin, they’ll need less time to cook than thicker pieces of fish, so start checking for doneness around 8 minutes.

Lastly, the recipe doesn’t exactly include a real sauce (although you can reduce the poaching liquid on the stove if you’d like), so you need to add a little something to dress these up. You can keep it simple by finishing with some lemon juice, or cover the top with a quick gremolata, a green sauce made with chopped parsley, lemon zest and garlic.

I like to serve this dish with roasted potatoes or rice pilaf as well as some type of green vegetable, like buttered French green beans or garlicky Brussels sprouts.
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Quip of the Day:  Q. Where do fish keep their money?  A. In the riverbank.
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