Priceless Paintings from W7

This is the perfect split between my German home cooking and my current home in England. I call it Fish and Chips, Brittany-style for the English, Sauerkraut Unn Fisch for the Germans, and Choucroute de Mer for the French-aware among us. I have heard of French people denying this meal’s authenticity, but trust me. You’ll find it in many places in Brittany.

It’s simple, it’s surprising, it’s different, it’s impressive, it’s delicious.

For 4 to 5 people, you’ll need a large jar (850g?) of Sauerkraut (=Choucroute). In England, you can now get it in most Supermarkets, and in all Polish Delicatessen. Per head, you need 120g of salmon (smoked salmon filet pieces preferred) each, 100g of white fish such as Cod or Haddock, and a couple of large prawns or langoustines.

First, cut half an onion into half rings, fry with a little white fat or lard and a good handful of dry cured lardons (or small pieces of good quality bacon). Add 850g Sauerkraut (drain it in a colander first), half a cup of dry white wine, 3 crushed juniper berries, 2 bay leaves, a pinch of salt. Cover, reduce the heat and allow to simmer on very low heat. Time is not critical provided the heat is very low.

Heat butter in a frying pan and gently fry pieces of salmon fillet. I prefer using lightly smoked salmon. When using fresh salmon, which has more moisture, I suggest dusting it with a mix from wheat flour and ground ginger.

Heat up milk in another frying pan – about 1 1/2 fingers deep. Don’t bring it to the boil, but close. Add 4 juniper berries and 2 bay leaves, then gently simmer the white fish pieces in it. This needs time (15 minutes?) because you’ll be cooking at only 80 Celcius, approximately. If the lardons (or the bacon) hadn’t done it already, now was the moment to realize this is not a kosher meal.

Meanwhile… heat up a good amount of olive oil in a small wok or pan. Add some real fire with some red chillies and a heap of fresh garlic, then fry the prawns.

Now finish the Sauerkraut with a generous amount of double cream. Stir this well under.

You’re done!

Put a nice heap of kraut on each plate, salmon and white fish on top, crowned by some hot prawns. Serves well with steamed potatoes or crispy potato wedges. Goes with white wine, and lots of Aaaaaahs.

Trust me. I know it sounds weird, but it really is lovely (and recently got approved by yet another crowd at my table).

Food and Drink cooking, Fish, food, fresh food, recipe

I mentioned Pommes Dauphinoise with Halibut and Tuna a la Grecque just yesterday. This is one of those lovely meals that don’t take much time and are ever so rewarding, so here goes:

Pommes Dauphinoise:

Preheat the oven to 180 Celsius.

Peel and wash waxy potatoes, and use a slicer to slice them into 3 mm slices. Lightly butter a oven proof dish, spread the slices into the dish.

Mix a good amount of black pepper, some salt and ground nutmeg with enough cream to just cover the potatoes with this mix – the lasagne dishes that you can see used in today’s photo take about 200ml of cream each.

Pop into the oven, set the kitchen timer to 60 minutes, and take a break. Come back 20 minutes before the potatoes are done.

Halibut and Tuna a la Grecque:

Works with any bone or white fish as long as it doesn’t flake too much. Halibut steaks are good, Swordfish steaks are even better (but currently out of season). Tuna works, and so do many others. Use pretty thick slices (at least 2..3 cm, or one inch).

Prepare the fish (rinse and clean, but leave the skin on).

Heat a generous amount of olive oil. Add an extraordinary amount of coarsely ground black pepper (at least one table spoon), a teaspoon of salt, at least 5 crushed cloves of garlic, and a finely diced red hot chilly pepper.

Quickly shallow-fry the fish for 2..4 minutes each side, depending on its thickness. Then drizzle juice from half a lime per portion over the fish (lime, not lemon), put the lid on and let it steam for the remaining 5..8 minutes until the fish is cooked through.

Greek Salad:

Chip half a cucumber and a handful of ripe tomatoes into pieces. Make a dressing from half a teaspoon of salt, half a teaspoon of mustard, 3 table spoons olive oil, two table spoons white wine vinegar, and a generous pinch of thyme – lemon thyme preferred, if available.

Since the salad accompanies a whole meal (rather than acting as a starter or a lunch by itself), forget the feta cheese that otherwise features in Greek Salad.

See what I mean? 30 minutes preparation time, one hour cooking time, and a very lovely meal. Enjoy!

Food and Drink cooking, Fish, recipe

Germany is Sauerkraut country as everyone knows, so for a German, this might sound a bit like Mission Impossible: Fish and Langoustine, served on a bed of creamy Sauerkraut. Fish and kraut don't go together and neither do cream and kraut, but… You'd be surprised. We ate this in Brittany and I cooked it twice since, with pretty good ratings from the various diners. Here goes, for four portions:

Gently fry up some diced bacon and a diced half onion. When the bacon gets crisp and the onion glassy, add 1 bay leaf, 8 slightly crushed juniper berries and 750g Sauerkraut. If the bacon is too lean, add a walnut-sized amount of cooking fat. Keep the heat very low, and time won't be an issue. Turn occasionally.

Prepare a nice potato gratin to go along with it. For a lighter option, use fresh white bread, but the gratin really did the trick.

Finally, heat up one walnut sized piece of butter and an equal amount of olive oil, and gently fry some pieces of slightly smoked salmon fillets (125g per person). Smoked haddock, as shown here, also works well (adjust amounts as necessary). Season with black pepper. In a second pan, heat a generous amount of olive oil with crushed chillies, fresh hot red chilly peppers and 2..3 cloves of garlic, and quickly fry some Langoustines or King Prawns from both sides.

Season the kraut with a pinch of salt, half a teaspoon of nutmeg and 75ml thick cream.

Serve fish on kraut, gratin aside, and you won't hear a word until it's all eaten.

P.S. Some French lady claimed this wasn't French at all, but quand vous googlez pour Choucroute de la mer ou Choucroute aux Fruits de Mer, you'll find plenty of evidence that I wasn't lying to you.

Food and Drink Fish, Germany, Langoustine, olive oil