Fire It Up - Andrew Schloss [123]
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1¼ cups Parsley-Walnut Sauce
DIRECTIONS:
Light a grill for direct medium-high heat, about 425°F. Preheat a fish basket on the grill.
Pat the perch dry, and then rub all over with the olive oil. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper and let stand until the grill is ready. Meanwhile, make the parsley-walnut sauce and keep warm. Brush the fish basket and coat liberally with oil. Put the fish in the hot basket, skin-side down, and put the basket directly over the heat. Grill until the fish looks opaque on the surface, but is still filmy and moist in the center (about 125°F on an instant-read thermometer), 3 to 4 minutes per side.
Remove to a platter or plates and drizzle with the sauce.
LEAN, FIRM WHITE FISH STEAKS
Herb-Bathed Grilled Pollock Steaks with Gribiche
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
Pollock is the culinary world’s most plentiful fish. In the Pacific, this small, sleek animal runs from the central California coast to Alaska’s Bering Sea all the way to the Sea of Japan. It’s used in everything from McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish sandwich to Gorton’s fish sticks to imitation crabmeat (a.k.a. surimi). Atlantic pollock is a larger, oilier fish with a stronger taste. A member of the cod family, pollock flakes up fairly large when cooked and holds its own with a range of mild and bold-flavored seasonings. To keep it simple, the usual seafood partners show up here–fresh dill, tarragon, lemon, and white wine–along with a creamy caper mayonnaise, which is given an acidic edge with the addition of sour cream.
INGREDIENTS:
Grated zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 2 lemons
½ cup dry white wine
¾ cup olive oil
⅓ cup Dill-Tarragon Rub
4 pollock steaks (1½ to 2 pounds total), 1 to 1½ inches thick
1 cup Gribiche Sauce
DIRECTIONS:
Combine the lemon zest and juice, white wine, olive oil, and 2 tablespoons of the herb rub in a 1-gallon zipper-lock bag. Add the pollock steaks and press out the air. Seal and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours.
Remove the pollock from the marinade, reserving the marinade. Coat the fish all over with the remaining rub and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Light a grill for direct medium-high heat, about 425°F. Preheat a fish basket directly over the heat. Brush the fish basket and coat with oil. Put the pollock in the hot basket and put the basket directly over the heat. Grill until the fish looks opaque on the surface, but is still filmy and moist in the center (about 130°F on an instant-read thermometer), drizzling often with the reserved marinade, 3 to 4 minutes per side.
Transfer to a platter or plates and serve with the gribiche.
LEAN, FIRM WHITE FISH
Grilled Skate with Brown Butter
MAKES 4 SERVINGS
Skate is a type of ray with huge pectoral fins, which constitute most of its body and flap like wings as the fish skates along the ocean floor. Like other members of the shark family, skate has no bones, only flexible cartilage. Cooking skate wings with the cartilage (unfilleted) helps it hold up on the grill and keeps the fish juicy and luscious. The cartilage is crunchy so enjoy it, or flake the cooked fish away from the cartilage, if you prefer. Either way, eat skate hot before the gelatin in the flesh firms up and gets sticky. Although we have some unusual flavor combinations in this book, we stayed true to a classic French preparation for this dish by drizzling it with a sauce of browned butter, white wine, lemon juice, and capers. Okay, we did take one or two liberties: The skate is grilled instead of sautéed, as it would normally be cooked in France. And to the browned butter sauce, we’ve added a little honey for sweetness and a few almonds for crunch.
INGREDIENTS:
2½ pounds skinless skate wing, unfilleted
¼ cup olive oil
¼ teaspoon sea salt
⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
¾ cup Black Caper Butter
1½ tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons slivered almonds
DIRECTIONS:
Set the skate in a large dish and coat all over with the oil. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Light