Joan Nathan: www.joannathan.com
Choucroute de Poisson au Beurre Blanc - Fish Sauerkraut with Wine and Butter Sauce
Choucroute de Poisson au Beurre Blanc - Fish Sauerkraut with Wine and Butter Sauce
One morning, as my editor Judith Jones and I were wandering around the streets of Strasbourg looking for a cell phone store, I bumped into three young men having a smoke outside a restaurant. I saw Crocodile written on their chefs’ jacket and asked if Emil Jung, the chef-owner and a friend of a friend, was in the restaurant. They said he was and told me to just go knock on the door to say hello. We did; three hours later we left the restaurant having been wined and dined beautifully by him and his lovely wife Monique. Our favorite dish was this delicious fish sauerkraut.
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 6 ounces Savoy cabbage
- 12 ounces sauerkraut, rinsed in cold water and drained
- 1 1/3 cup Riesling white wine
- 1/4 teaspoon juniper berries, crushed, or 1 teaspoon gin
- 4½ cups fish stock, available at fish markets and some supermarkets
- A few sprigs of thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- Freshly ground pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 4 shallots, finely chopped
- 6 ounces butter, cut in small pieces and chilled
- 4 teaspoons white wine vinegar
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
- 6 to 8 salmon, haddock, filet of sole or cod fillets with the skin (3 pounds)
- 8 steamed potatoes
1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a frying pan, and sauté the onion and the cabbage until the cabbage is wilted and the onion is translucent.
2. Stir the sauerkraut into the onion and cabbage. Add 1 cup of the white wine, the juniper berries, ½ cup fish stock, thyme, bay leaf, and freshly ground pepper to taste. Simmer, uncovered, for about 15 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed but the cabbage is still crunchy. Stir in the cilantro and transfer to a flat ovenproof casserole.
3. To make the beurre blanc, sauté the shallots in 1 tablespoon of the butter in a saucepan for a few minutes. Add the remaining 1/3 cup white wine, vinegar, and remaining 4 cups fish stock, and cook, whisking while reducing by more than half. Then add the remaining butter, piece by piece, whisking all the time. Add the lemon juice, and salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste. Set aside.
4. Season the fish with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Quickly sear the fillets in a nonstick frying pan in the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Place on top of the sauerkraut, heat in the oven for about 5 minutes or until the fish is cooked through. While the fish is baking reheat the beurre blanc sauce. Serve topped with the warm sauce and steamed potatoes on the side.
Yield: 6 to 8 servings