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By Root 163 0

and at Lola and Lolita restaurants it’s always the biggest seller regardless of how it is prepared. Here I pair my favorite freshwater fish with my favorite meat.

Serves 4

8 3-ounce skinless walleye fillets

Kosher salt

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

16 strips bacon

1 tablespoon canola oil

Season the fillets with salt and sprinkle with the thyme. Rub one side of each of the fillets with the butter. Rest one fillet on another, buttered side to buttered side, to make four portions. Lay down 4 strips of bacon overlapping the strips. Arrange one portion of fish on top and wrap the bacon slices up and around the fish. Repeat with the remaining bacon and fish portions. Transfer to a large plate, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Heat the oil in an ovenproof sauté pan over medium heat. Add the fish fillets to the pan seam side down and sauté the fillets to render the bacon, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Place the pan in the oven to crisp the bacon and finish cooking the fish, 2 to 4 minutes. Remove to a tray lined with paper towels to drain before serving.

SCALLOPS WITH LAMB SAUSAGE AND BEANS

I love the combination of lamb sausage with beans and some fresh mint. This dish can be made with shrimp instead of scallops and also can be the base for a roasted fish such as halibut or turbot. The fat of the sausage and acidity of the orange make a quick warm vinaigrette right in the pan. Scallops—like shrimp—are given size designations based on the number per pound. For this dish, I like scallops that are 1½ to 2 ounces a piece.

Serves 4 to 6

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 pound loose Lamb Sausage

1 pound dry-packed scallops (preferably 12 U-10 scallops)

Kosher salt

1 fresno chile, seeded and diced

1 garlic clove, minced

1 shallot, minced

1 cup cooked cannellini beans

Grated zest and juice of 1 orange

1 cup Chicken Stock

2 tablespoons torn fresh mint leaves

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the crumbled lamb sausage and cook until slightly crispy, about 4 minutes. With a slotted spoon remove the sausage from the pan.

Increase the heat under the pan to medium-high. Season the scallops with salt and add them to the pan. Cook on the first side for 1 to 2 minutes or until golden brown. Flip the scallops, add the chili, garlic, and shallot, and continue to cook for 1 to 2 minutes.

Remove the scallops from the pan and return the sausage to the pan along with the beans, orange juice, and stock. Simmer for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and divide the mixture among four to six bowls. Top with the scallops and then garnish with the orange zest and mint.

Poaching

Poaching is a gentle and controlled cooking method that is used often in restaurant kitchens and is easy to do at home. For a sauté, the pan is typically heated to 400°F or so. High temperatures are also used when roasting in the oven. And you need that high heat to create that delicious golden-brown crust on a roast chicken, that crisp sear on a cut of beef. But when you don’t need that high-heat sear, poaching is by far the more effective cooking method. Water cannot rise above 212°F at its most vigorous boil. At just below a simmer, it’s 180°F, a temperature that cooks food evenly and gently and keeps lean cuts of meat and fish very moist.

Additionally, poaching gives you a way to infuse flavor into what you are cooking by adding different seasonings to the liquid. I use two basic types of liquids for poaching. Most commonly, I opt for water to which I add aromatic vegetables, usually some kind of acid (vinegar or lemon juice), seasonings, and spice. In French, this is called a court bouillon, which translates roughly as “quick stock.” I also occasionally poach in fat—butter or extra virgin olive oil—infused with bold aromatics.

OLIVE OIL-POACHED HALIBUT WITH FENNEL, ROSEMARY, AND GARLIC

This is a great poaching method for lean fish such as halibut, cod, or turbot, or for a lean meat