Pawaru-Grahmata

№ 10III. nodaļa

Līdeku vārīt

Poached pike with white wine sauce (or anchovy sauce)

  • Serves 4–6
  • about 50 minutes
  • Melnraksts · vēl nav izmēģināts

1796Lihdeku wahriht.

Modernizētslpp. 137 · PDF 151
4 porcijas

The book gives no quantities and no recipe for the sauce; the amounts and both sauces below are ours.

Method

5 soļi
  1. If the fishmonger hasn't done it, scale the pike: hold it by the tail and scrape from tail to head with the back of a knife, then rinse. Gut it and keep the liver; cut away the small green gall bladder without breaking it. Cut the fish into 4–5 pieces, or leave it whole if you have a fish kettle.
  2. Put the pike in a wide pan with the cold water and salt and bring slowly to a simmer. Skim off the foam, then add the allspice and bay leaves.
  3. Keep it barely simmering for 12–15 minutes for pieces, 20–25 minutes for a whole fish, until the flesh is opaque and comes away from the bone (63 °C in the thickest part). Put the liver in for the last 5 minutes.
  4. For the wine sauce, melt the butter, stir in the flour and cook for 1–2 minutes without browning. Whisk in the wine and the cooking liquid and simmer for 5–8 minutes. Season. For the anchovy sauce, melt the butter, stir in the flour and the anchovies until they dissolve, whisk in the cooking liquid, simmer for 5 minutes and finish with lemon.
  5. Lift the pike onto a warm dish with the liver beside it. Pour wine sauce over the liver and serve the rest of the sauce separately.

Notes

What the book says vs. what we added

scaling and cleaning the pike, putting it on in cold well water with salt, adding allspice and bay, skimming it when it boils, and pouring a wine sauce over the liver are the book's. It says to make a sauce "of wine or anchovies, or some other" but gives no recipe here; both sauces, the amounts and the times are ours.

Pike

northern pike (Esox lucius, Latvian līdaka; the book's līdeks) is not threatened. It is common in Latvian lakes and rivers and is sold whole, mostly wild-caught, at fish markets in the Baltics, Poland, Germany and Scandinavia; elsewhere it is hard to buy. Its flesh is lean and firm. Fish from muddy water can taste earthy, so buy from clear lakes or rivers if you can.

Bones

pike has fine Y-shaped bones in the upper fillets. They are easiest to find after cooking, when the flesh lifts off in flakes; warn your guests.

Safety

freshwater fish such as pike can carry the broad fish tapeworm, so always cook pike through to 63 °C in the centre.

Substitutes

zander (pike-perch) is the closest. Cod, hake or haddock work too and need a few minutes less.

Liver

pike liver is mild and good to eat; leave it out if you prefer.

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