Fish for summer
Living on the coast of Maine, we take good fresh fish for granted. If you are a
fishing person yourself, opportunities abound between lakes, streams and the
ocean. And if you are not, fish markets with fresh catch abound.
A number of years ago, I finally
relegated myself to the ’non-fishing-person’ category after being shown up by a
couple of ospreys on the Medomak river, who caught four fish in a half an hour
in a place where I had fished several hours un-successfully. And they did not
even have bait, just excellent eyesight.
Salmon probably must be one of the
most popular current fish varieties for home cooking, since every issue of most
food magazines features at least one recipe for salmon. It is also versatile
for summer, since it can easily be cooked on the grill in a rack with just a
basting of oil, lemon juice and some fresh herbs, or wrapped in foil with the
same flavoring agents.
One summer camping on Brooks lake
in Katmai peninsula, Alaska, my family feasted on grilled salmon for nearly a
week every night. Qualifying circumstances being limited food supplies that
could be brought in on a float plane and a salmon run 30 yards from the
campsite, where all you had to do was cast, snag a salmon in the head region by
your hook and it was legitimate to keep. The only disadvantage was a couple of
local grizzlies who like to patrol the same lakeside, even when chased by
arctic terns.
One of my favorite summer fish
treats though in halibut made the Norwegian style. It may not truly be
Norwegian style, but since I first had it that way in Norway, the name has
stuck in my recipe book.
Halibut à
la Norwegian
Clean and chop in inch sized
pieces: ½ green and ½ red pepper and slice 6 large mushrooms. Thinly slice ¼
red onion and separately slice in wedges 2 large tomatoes. Lightly flour 1 – 1
½ lb piece of halibut, salt and pepper it and fry on medium heat in 2 Tbls.
butter and 1 Tblsp. oil, about 4 minutes on side until barely cooked through.
In the meantime in another pan sauté the onions, mushrooms and peppers in 1
Tblsp. butter and oil each, for a few minutes, Stir in the tomatoes, ¼ cup
broth, ½ Tblsp. balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for a few
minutes with stirring until liquid is just evaporated. The vegetables should
be tender, but firm. Serve on top of the halibut with dilled potatoes on
the side.
White fish, such as haddock, hake,
cod and flounder also can benefit from additional flavors in baking rather than
frying. A very old recipe from Craig Clairbone in the New York times from days
when flounder was 45 cents a pound, has evolved at our house in the following
version of haddock or hake in mustard sauce. The following recipe is sufficient
for 6, decrease amounts proportionally for fewer diners.
Haddock in mustard sauce
Spread ½ cup fine dry bread crumbs
in the bottom of a shallow baking dish. Using thinner cuts of fish, lay 2
pounds haddock (or hake or flounder) on top of the crumbs. Melt one stick ( ½
cup) butter and stir in: 1 Tblsp. wine vinegar, 1 Tblsp. lime juice, 1 Tblsp.
Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp. Dijon mustard, ¼ tsp. Tabasco, 1 tsp. salt, pepper
to taste. Pour butter mixture over the fish and bake at 450 degrees for 15
minutes, basting with the butter sauce once. Garnish with a sprinkling of
paprika and lemon wedges on the side. Serve with parsley potatoes
or steamed rice.
These elegant, yet easy fish
presentations make delightful summer meals with or without chilled white wine
and a delightful Maine summer breeze in the evening.
(I. Winicov Harrington lives in Waldoboro and is the
author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the
Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)
