Dairy-Free Waterzooi (Belgian Fish Stew)
May. 3rd, 2012 11:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rosefoxMaybe ten years ago, maybe more, I had a bowl of waterzooi at Markt, a Belgian restaurant that at the time was in New York City's Meatpacking District. (It's moved up to Chelsea and they don't have waterzooi on the menu anymore.) It was one of those lifechanging culinary experiences. I eat seafood very rarely; I'd never encountered fish cooked with milk before. The broth was silky, the fish delicate and flaky, the strands of julienned vegetables eminently slurpable. Since then I've had many a creamy chowder, but none came close to the sublime richness of waterzooi, which incorporates both egg yolks and heavy cream (and, in Markt's version, lobster--definitely not traditional, but so delicious!).
On Tuesday we inaugurated our fabulous new blender by making cashew cream (pour boiling water over cashews, soak for one hour, drain, blend with cold water to desired consistency; we blended in a sauteed diced shallot for extra flavor). We made it quite thick and had a lot left over after making a really excellent pasta alfredo, so I'd been thinking about how to use it. Today I mixed some with water, leftover mashed potatoes, nutmeg, and thyme for the best creamy potato soup I've ever had. That made me think of chowder, which made me think of waterzooi. I hunted up a recipe that called for fish (though at some point I must try Julia Child's chicken waterzooi) and we set about adapting it for my dairy-free, low-salt diet.
( Ingredients and recipe )
This recipe has a great cooking rhythm. There's just the right amount of time for cubing the fish and chopping the parsley as the vegetables cook, and for loading the dishwasher and separating the eggs as the fish simmers. It smells fantastic while it cooks, and one bowlful is a perfect meal. Even though we used low-sodium broth, it needed just the barest touch of salt to make the flavors pop. The two of us had a serving each, and the third serving is sitting in the fridge, where I suspect the flavors will marry gloriously.
It would be very easy to veganize: no egg yolks, more cashew cream to compensate, veg broth instead of chicken broth, tofu instead of fish. Maybe some day I'll try that. The vegetables could also be varied from the classic mirepoix; as I recall, the dish at Markt had long strands of zucchini and red bell pepper. Lemongrass, ginger, and a dash of hot sauce would give it a lovely Thai flavor, perfect served over rice instead of bread. It's a superbly adaptable recipe. I look forward to playing around with it.
On Tuesday we inaugurated our fabulous new blender by making cashew cream (pour boiling water over cashews, soak for one hour, drain, blend with cold water to desired consistency; we blended in a sauteed diced shallot for extra flavor). We made it quite thick and had a lot left over after making a really excellent pasta alfredo, so I'd been thinking about how to use it. Today I mixed some with water, leftover mashed potatoes, nutmeg, and thyme for the best creamy potato soup I've ever had. That made me think of chowder, which made me think of waterzooi. I hunted up a recipe that called for fish (though at some point I must try Julia Child's chicken waterzooi) and we set about adapting it for my dairy-free, low-salt diet.
( Ingredients and recipe )
This recipe has a great cooking rhythm. There's just the right amount of time for cubing the fish and chopping the parsley as the vegetables cook, and for loading the dishwasher and separating the eggs as the fish simmers. It smells fantastic while it cooks, and one bowlful is a perfect meal. Even though we used low-sodium broth, it needed just the barest touch of salt to make the flavors pop. The two of us had a serving each, and the third serving is sitting in the fridge, where I suspect the flavors will marry gloriously.
It would be very easy to veganize: no egg yolks, more cashew cream to compensate, veg broth instead of chicken broth, tofu instead of fish. Maybe some day I'll try that. The vegetables could also be varied from the classic mirepoix; as I recall, the dish at Markt had long strands of zucchini and red bell pepper. Lemongrass, ginger, and a dash of hot sauce would give it a lovely Thai flavor, perfect served over rice instead of bread. It's a superbly adaptable recipe. I look forward to playing around with it.
Salmon cooking
May. 15th, 2011 09:34 pmchessbotHey all,
I'm not sure this is appropriate, but yell at me and I'll delete it, I guess.
One of my projects for the summer is learning to cook salmon. (Well, really any fish, but I like salmon a lot.) Anyone have suggestions for good, reasonably quick recipes? I'm working full-time so I can marinate all day but don't have that much time to cook in the evenings. Thanks!
I'm not sure this is appropriate, but yell at me and I'll delete it, I guess.
One of my projects for the summer is learning to cook salmon. (Well, really any fish, but I like salmon a lot.) Anyone have suggestions for good, reasonably quick recipes? I'm working full-time so I can marinate all day but don't have that much time to cook in the evenings. Thanks!
Snark in cookbooks
May. 30th, 2010 10:54 pmfish_echoDown the way from where I live there's a bookstore I really like-- it carries new books, used books, old books, sheet music, CDs, and records. They were having another cookbook sale today (they seem to do those fairly frequently or maybe I'm just really good at noticing it when they do) and I picked up 'French Cooking in Ten Minutes' by Edouard de Pomiane, written in French in 1930, first translated into English in 1977. Just flipping through it I've already found two recipes which amused me, so I though I'd share:
Lobster with Mayonnaise
Buy half a cooked lobster. Serve it with a homemade mayonnaise. That won't take very long to make, so spend the extra time decorating the serving platter with a few lettuce leaves, some black and green olives, capers, or anything else that comes to mind. You will feel yourself becoming an artist.
Fried Mackerel
Have your fish seller clean a mackerel. Wash it and wipe it off when you get home. Make 2 or 3 slits in each side with a knife, and roll the fish in flour. Cook it for 10 minutes in a frying pan containing smoking hot oil or very hot butter. Sprinkle the mackerel with salt and chopped parsley before serving.
I forgot to tell you to open the window. I'll bet you did, anyway.
crossposted tofish_echo and ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
omnomnom
Lobster with Mayonnaise
Buy half a cooked lobster. Serve it with a homemade mayonnaise. That won't take very long to make, so spend the extra time decorating the serving platter with a few lettuce leaves, some black and green olives, capers, or anything else that comes to mind. You will feel yourself becoming an artist.
Fried Mackerel
Have your fish seller clean a mackerel. Wash it and wipe it off when you get home. Make 2 or 3 slits in each side with a knife, and roll the fish in flour. Cook it for 10 minutes in a frying pan containing smoking hot oil or very hot butter. Sprinkle the mackerel with salt and chopped parsley before serving.
I forgot to tell you to open the window. I'll bet you did, anyway.
crossposted to
fish_echo and omnomnomcheyinkaThis recipe is a modification of a recipe from delishfood.wordpress.com and a recipe from Gastronomy Domine. The modifications are mostly from not having all the ingredients required, and from realizing that the fish didn't seem to be cooking fast enough.
( recipe follows! )
Polenta-crusted mackerel
Mar. 21st, 2010 09:58 amrydra_wongOkay, did everyone know about this apart from me?
Take one egg and some quick-cook polenta. Beat the egg in a bowl, and pour the polenta on a plate. Dip the mackerel in the egg, roll it in the polenta to coat it, and pan-fry.
Get delicious crispy crunchy coating.
Served with fennel and kohl-rabi, sliced into sticks and thrown into the pan for 30 seconds after the fish was done.
(P.S. Thanks to everyone who answered my cry for osso bucco help!)
Take one egg and some quick-cook polenta. Beat the egg in a bowl, and pour the polenta on a plate. Dip the mackerel in the egg, roll it in the polenta to coat it, and pan-fry.
Get delicious crispy crunchy coating.
Served with fennel and kohl-rabi, sliced into sticks and thrown into the pan for 30 seconds after the fish was done.
(P.S. Thanks to everyone who answered my cry for osso bucco help!)
Catfish with mirepoix
Oct. 26th, 2009 05:44 amrosefoxMy husband had the idea of cooking fish over mirepoix, and we got carrots in our last farmshare, so we decided to give it a try. We were hoping to use tilapia, but when we got to the market the only tilapia they had was from China, so we went with U.S.-sourced catfish instead. It would be better with tilapia, I think.
( Recipe )
( Recipe )
toftToday I ate salmon with balsamic-and-ginger sauce, homemade fries, and coleslaw!
( Salmon with Balsamic and Ginger Sauce )
I've found that the trick for really good homemade fries is to *fry* on medium heat them rather than bake them, ie. in a frying pan with cooking oil, but after browning both sides, turn the heat down and cover.
Now: more cooking! I'm going to a second thanksgiving tomorrow, so I have to make my mum's cabbage dish again. ( My mum's red cabbage is delicious. )
( Salmon with Balsamic and Ginger Sauce )
I've found that the trick for really good homemade fries is to *fry* on medium heat them rather than bake them, ie. in a frying pan with cooking oil, but after browning both sides, turn the heat down and cover.
Now: more cooking! I'm going to a second thanksgiving tomorrow, so I have to make my mum's cabbage dish again. ( My mum's red cabbage is delicious. )
Salmon Poached in Cider
Oct. 6th, 2009 11:22 amholyschistThis is my current favorite salmon recipe and it has cider, which is autumny (especially if you can get someone's homemade hard cider! I am not so fortunate).
It's based on Salmón a la Ribereña, but I've simplified it because I'm not a fan of either bacon or ham. I'm going to start playing with adding some other flavors in soon, but it's darn tasty as a simple dish with potatoes and super-fast.
( Om nom nom! )
It's based on Salmón a la Ribereña, but I've simplified it because I'm not a fan of either bacon or ham. I'm going to start playing with adding some other flavors in soon, but it's darn tasty as a simple dish with potatoes and super-fast.
( Om nom nom! )
Brown Sugar Baked Salmon
Jun. 21st, 2009 10:58 pmloritaThis is one from my mother's big box o' recipes, which means the original came from heaven-knows-where. Another successful product with my culinary guinea pigs (aka my D&D group). This is a marinade recipe, so time it accordingly. Very easy.
( Read more... )
( Read more... )
Vaguely-Japanese Salmon
Apr. 4th, 2009 08:24 pmannotated_emVaguely-Japanese Salmon: a very quick, simple way to fix salmon. It's salty-sweet-spicy in a nice balance, and works very well over rice, and as a leftover.
( Recipe here. )
( Recipe here. )
