Description
Thisdish is a satisfying New England classic and it is particularly good when madewith exceptional smoked haddock. The recipe is from Peter O'Donovan of NantucketWild Gourmet & Smokehouse, so do be sure to try the dish with their smoked haddock, which has a nice balance of smoke and restrained saltiness. If you use another brand of haddock, taste it before starting to cook; if it is very salty rinse it in cold waterfor a minute or so.
Thecheese is optional and when we were testing the recipe we thought it would betoo rich but found that it added another dimension that we like. Peter loves to serve Finnan Haddie withfluffy mashed potatoes or peeled boiled potatoes that have been tossed in a little butter and freshcracked pepper and salt. When cornis in season adding an ear or two of freshly cut kernels at the end of cookingis a nice treat.
Ingredients
At a glance
Region
Main Ingredient
Cooking Method
Difficulty
Serves
3-4
Onepound smoked haddock
3 Tbsp butter, softened
2 tsp all-purpose flour
Neutralcooking oil such as canola
1large yellow onion, thinly sliced
1-2/3cup whole milk
Freshlyground black pepper to taste
1green onion, finely chopped
Handfulof Italian parsley, finely chopped
Optional:1 cup grated cheddar cheese
Optional: 1 cup of husked corn kernels
Methods/steps
Cutthe smoked haddock into two or three large pieces.
Mix abeurre manié: combine the softened butter and flour to make a smooth paste and setaside.
Heatcooking oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Placesliced onion in a pan and cook for a minute or two. Placefish over onions in pan. Addthe milk and a few grindings of pepper. Bringmilk to a gentle simmer. Reduceheat to medium low, cover pan and cook for about 5 minutes.
Removefish, leaving milk mixture in pan, and let cool for a minute or two. Addgreen onion to milk in the pan and continue to gently simmer for another 5minutes.
Meanwhile,cut or break fish into strips about 1 1/2 inches wide a set in a warmed servingdish.
Removepan with milk from heat–either turn off heat or move pan off burner. Whiskbeurre manié into milk and return to medium heat, stirring constantly. Bringmilk back to a simmer – it should thicken slightly. Addcheddar cheese and/or corn if using and heat for a minute or two to incorporateinto sauce. Checksauce consistency and, if too thick, add milk and heat for a minute. Stirin chopped parsley and pour sauce over reserved fish.
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Additional Tips
Itwas a challenge to find the perfect wine pair for this traditional dish. Aftertrying a Pouilly Fuisse (too acidic) and a domestic Chardonnay (toooverpowering), we settled on an Alsatian blend of Chardonnay, Gewurztraminerand Riesling, which did a much better job in complementing both creamy andsalty flavors. Among the tasters, there were two camps, however -- some of usat the tasting table felt the best match would really be an ice-cold beer.
Examples:
Now& Zen 'Wasabi White' $11.99
CapeCod Beer Summer Ale $12 for a 64-oz. Growler