Choucroute Of Fish Recipes

SEAFOOD CHOUCROUTE

Steps:

• Place bacon over medium heat in a 4-quart stovetop casserole that can go to the table. When lightly brown, remove and reserve, leaving fat. Raise the heat to high, add scallops and sear briefly on both sides. Remove. Reduce heat to low, return bacon to the pan, add leeks and garlic, and cook until softened. Stir in the apple, cook about a minute, then add the smoked trout, broken into chunks. Add beer, bring to a simmer, stir in sauerkraut and season with salt and pepper. Tuck scallops into sauerkraut. Cover and simmer 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to a boil for potatoes. Simmer until tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain and return to the pot. Cover to keep warm.
• Tuck the mussels into the sauerkraut around the edges of pot. Cut the fresh trout in 2-inch pieces and place on top of sauerkraut. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Cover and cook about 6 minutes, until mussels have opened and fresh trout is opaque. Scatter with tarragon and serve from casserole with potatoes on the side.

'CHOUCROUTE' OF FISH

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 300. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Put the rye-bread cubes on a rimmed baking sheet, and toss with the melted butter. Bake, stirring occasionally, until golden and crisp, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, put the sauerkraut, ham, juniper, caraway, thyme, bay leaves and all but 2 tablespoons of the wine in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When the mixture bubbles, lower the heat to a simmer and cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 40 minutes. Lay the fish on top, sprinkle with salt and pepper and cover the pot. The fish will be tender in about 10 minutes.
• As the fish cooks, put the shallot and the remaining 2 tablespoons wine in a small saucepan over medium-high heat; cook until the liquid has almost evaporated, about 5 minutes. Turn the heat to low, and stir in the cream. Add the remaining butter, a little bit at a time, stirring constantly. Once the mixture is creamy, stir in the lemon juice and some salt and pepper; keep the mixture warm over the lowest possible heat.
• When the fish is tender, spoon it and the sauerkraut onto a platter; pour the sauce over all, scatter the croutons on top and around, garnish with the parsley and serve.

CHOUCROUTE GARNI

Steps:

• Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/ gas 3. Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a large flameproof casserole dish or heavy-based pan. Fry the onions for 10-15 mins until soft. Add the wine and vinegar, along with the herbs and spices, and reduce to a glaze.
• Add the carrots, celery and garlic to the pan, mix well, then lay the wedges of cabbage on top. Snuggle the sausages and bacon between the cabbage chunks before pouring over the stock. Put the pan on the heat, bring to a simmer, then cover with a lid and cook in the oven for 1 hr 30 mins, stirring halfway through.
• Once cooked, serve in bowls with mashed potato, if you like.

CHOUCROUTE DE POISSON AU BEURRE BLANC

Steps:

• 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.
• Stir the sauerkraut into the onion and cabbage. Add 1 cup of the white wine, the juniper berries, 1/2 cup of the fish stock, the thyme, the bay leaf, and the freshly ground black pepper to taste. Simmer, uncovered, for about 15 minutes, or until most of the liquid is absorbed but the cabbage is still crunchy. Fish out the bay leaf, stir in the cilantro, and transfer to a flat ovenproof casserole.
• 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, the vinegar, and the remaining 4 cups fish stock, and cook, whisking, to reduce 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.
• 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, and 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, with steamed potatoes on the side.

SALMON WITH CHOUCROUTE AND GEWüRZTRAMINER SAUCE

Steps:

• Choucroute
• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and carrot and cook, stirring, until just wilted. Stir in the sauerkraut, stock, wine, and seasonings. Bring to a simmer and cook, covered, about 15 minutes, then set aside, still covered, to keep warm.
• Gewürztraminer Sauce
• Combine the wine, vinegar, and shallots in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer gently until the liquid is reduced to 2-3 tablespoons. Gradually add butter, in small pieces, whisking constantly, until all the butter is incorporated. The sauce should be a shiny, creamy yellow. Add salt. Taste, and adjust seasonings.
• Salmon
• Season the salmon with salt and pepper and coat with the bread crumb mixture. Heat the olive oil in a wide skillet over medium-high heat. When it is very hot but not smoking, add the salmon, presentation side down. Lower the heat to medium, add the butter, and use a spatula to lift the salmon, to allow butter to run under each fillet. Cook until it is golden brown, about 3 minutes. Turn and cook about 3 more minutes, until salmon is just medium-rare. Cook a little longer if you like it more done, but not long enough to dry it out.
• To Serve
• Divide the choucroute among four plates, top with a piece of salmon, and drizzle the sauce around the fish. Garnish with chives.
• Notes
• At Bayona, we use plain bread crumbs for this dish. But for a little more texture, try panko, Japanese bread crumbs (available at specialty markets and many grocery stores).
• Beurre blancs, or butter sauces, are known for breaking. Luckily it's a cinch to repair them. To fix a broken beurre blanc, skim the butter off the top and reserve the separated part of the sauce. In a small clean saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon of water to a simmer and whisk in the reserved sauce. Over a very gentle heat, whisk in the butter, a bit at a time, and the reserved sauce base should pull together.

CLASSIC CHOUCROUTE

Steps:

• Boil ham hocks in unsalted water until tender, at least 1 1/2 hours. Meanwhile, wash sauerkraut in cold water; drain. Wash again, in hot water; drain and squeeze dry.
• In a heavy, ovenproof pot, melt 3 tablespoons of the fat over medium heat. Add the onion, and cook it until soft and tender; do not brown. Add wine and 1 cup water, then bacon. Cover,and cook 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
• Season sauerkraut with pepper and a tiny bit of salt; add to pot,covering bacon. Combine garlic, juniper berries, caraway and bay leaf in cheesecloth and tie into a sachet. Bury this in the sauerkraut. Lay a circle of parchment paper directly over sauerkraut, cover, bring to a boil, transfer to oven and bake 1 hour.
• Add pork loin, top with potatoes, and return to oven for 30 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.
• About 15 minutes before potatoes are done,add bratwursts and frankfurters to the pot with hocks. Reduce heat to simmer, and heat through. Heat remaining fat in a skillet, and carefully brown blood sausages (they burst if overcooked).
• Add kirsch to sauerkraut; taste and add salt if necessary. Discard herb sachet.
• To serve, slice bacon and pork loin.Cut sausages and hocks into pieces. Put sauerkraut on large platter with meats and potatoes on top and around it. Serve with hot mustard and beer or white Alsatian wine.