Poached Fish

Cooked in this way, fish can be served with a variety of sauces or just plain. As an added bonus, the entire process from start to finish takes less that 30 minutes, even baked in an oven.

You need skinless fillets of white fish that are a little on the thick side. Flat fish such as flounder are not really suitable for this method.

Do nothing more than season the fillets with a little salt and white pepper and then lay them in a shallow dish and add half a cup (125mls) of cold milk.

Cover and leave for 15 minutes to soak, then add half a cup of fish stock or white wine, recover and cook over a gentle heat for 10 minutes. Keep well under the boil.

You can also bake in the oven for the same amount of time at a temperature of 130°C/250°F.

To see if the fish is cooked, test it with the point of a knife. The flakes should part easily.

Use the poaching liquid to make your sauce, if you are having one, by cooking 50g (2oz) of flour in 50g of butter for two minutes and then whisking in the liquid over a medium heat.

Cook through for a further 5 minutes, then stir in any flavoring such as chopped parsley or lemon juice. Pour the sauce over the fish to serve and decorate with more parsley or dill sprigs.

print this fish recipe

First published on Qassia