CookEat Recipe
Poached Fish with Vegetables and Eggs
Fish gently poached in an aromatic broth, served moist and hot with thinly sliced beetroot and potatoes, parsley and hard-boiled eggs.
Method
Steps
Step 1
Gather the ingredients: 1 kg whole hake, cleaned, gutted and scaled by the fishmonger; About 1.5 litres water, just enough to cover in a snug fish kettle; 1/2 medium onion; 2 whole cloves; 50 g celery, in pieces; 50 g carrot, in pieces; A small bunch of parsley: a few stems for the broth and the leaves for serving; 1 lemon: 3 thin slices for rubbing and the broth, plus juice to taste for dressing; Salt and black pepper; 400 g potatoes; 200 g cooked beetroot; 2 eggs; 2 tablespoons olive oil for dressing the vegetables.
Step 2
Keep the prepared fish refrigerated at 4°C or colder. Boil the potatoes in their skins until tender, about 20–25 minutes, then peel and cut into very thin slices. Hard-boil the eggs for about 10–12 minutes, cool under cold running water, peel and cut into wedges. Slice the cooked beetroot very thinly. Keep these ready for serving; refrigerate if making them ahead.
Step 3
Rub the raw fish lightly with the fresh lemon slices. Put the slices into a snug fish kettle with the water, salt, onion studded with the two cloves, celery, carrot and parsley stems. Bring to a boil and cook the aromatic broth for about 15 minutes before adding the fish. Do not reuse lemon that touched raw fish as a serving garnish.
Step 4
Lower the fish into the broth and poach gently, without a vigorous boil, for about 12–20 minutes depending on its thickness. Check at least 70°C in the thickest flesh, avoiding the bone. Do not use protruding eyes or loosening skin as the only doneness test.
Step 5
Lift the fish carefully onto a warm platter, leaving it lightly moistened with cooking broth. Dress the potato and beetroot slices with olive oil, salt, pepper and a little lemon juice. Arrange around the fish with the egg wedges and fresh parsley leaves. Serve promptly. If a short wait is unavoidable, keep the fish in its hot broth at 60°C or above, rather than leaving it lukewarm.
Step 6
For the cold-water poaching method, place the raw fish in cold water with the same aromatics instead of pre-boiling the broth. Bring slowly to a gentle simmer and cook to the same 70°C endpoint. Use the same platter service.
Step 7
Instead of the vegetables and egg garnish, serve the fish with one of the following sauces. Each sauce is a separate alternative; do not combine their ingredients. For a caper-anchovy herb sauce, finely chop 1/2 small onion, 1 tablespoon parsley, 4 basil leaves, 30 g lean prosciutto and 10 g drained vinegar capers. Cook gently in 3 tablespoons olive oil until the onion colours, about 6–8 minutes. Add 100 ml ready-to-use stock, simmer for 2–3 minutes, then take off the heat and stir in 2 finely chopped desalted anchovy fillets and juice of half a lemon.
Step 8
For a creamy fish-broth sauce, melt 40 g butter with 20 g flour and stir until lightly nut-coloured. Whisk in 400 ml hot strained fish-poaching broth and simmer until smooth, about 5 minutes. Off the heat, whisk in 4 tablespoons olive oil and 2 commercially pasteurized egg yolks. Return to very gentle heat, stirring, until 74°C without boiling. Finish with juice of 1 lemon, salt and pepper, and serve immediately. These doubled sauce quantities accompany about 600–800 g fish. For cold service, cool both fish and cooked sauce promptly in shallow containers, refrigerate at 4°C or colder within 2 hours, and serve cold within 2–3 days of cooking the fish.
Step 9
For hollandaise, gently melt 70 g butter and keep it warm. Whisk 2 commercially pasteurized egg yolks with about 15 ml water in a heatproof bowl over barely simmering water. Add the warm butter little by little, whisking to a creamy sauce. Stir in 1 tablespoon lemon juice, salt and pepper. Keep the heat gentle and serve immediately; use commercially pasteurized yolks rather than home pasteurization. This sauce quantity is for about 500 g cooked fish.
Step 10
For caper sauce, melt 25 g butter with 10 g flour and stir until nut-coloured. Add a further 25 g butter, cook briefly and whisk in about 100 ml strained fish broth, salt and pepper. Simmer for about 5 minutes. Off the heat, add 50 g drained vinegar capers, half chopped and half whole, and about 1 tablespoon vinegar to taste. Adjust with a little broth to a flowing cream consistency. Serve warm with the fish and fresh parsley.
Step 11
For tuna sauce, finely chop 50 g drained tuna in oil, 50 g drained capers, 4 desalted anchovy fillets and 1 tablespoon parsley. Pound with 2 hard-boiled egg yolks, then work in about 80 ml olive oil, juice of half a lemon and pepper. Press through a sieve and add a little more oil if needed to make a fluid sauce. Keep refrigerated until serving.
Step 12
For Genoese sauce, soak 25 g soft bread crumb in 2 tablespoons vinegar. Finely pound 40 g pine nuts, 15 g drained capers, 2 desalted anchovy fillets, 1 hard-boiled egg yolk, the flesh of 3 brined olives, half a small garlic clove and 1 tablespoon parsley including its tender stems, with the soaked bread, salt and pepper. Press through a sieve and work in 60 g olive oil. Adjust with a little vinegar to taste. This quantity accompanies about 600 g cooked fish; refrigerate until serving.
Step 13
For the cold mayonnaise presentation, omit the vegetable and egg garnish. Cool the cooked fish promptly in shallow containers and refrigerate at 4°C or colder within 2 hours. Remove all bones and arrange the cold flesh in pieces on a platter. Whisk 2 commercially pasteurized egg yolks with salt and white pepper, then slowly whisk in 150–200 ml olive oil, alternating with lemon juice to taste, up to 1 lemon. For a firmer emulsion, mash in 1 additional hard-boiled egg yolk before adding the oil. Spread this mayonnaise over the fish and decorate with 4 desalted anchovy fillets and 1 tablespoon whole capers. Keep cold, serve only the needed portion, and use within 2–3 days of cooking the fish.
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