I noticed that the fish section of the grocery today had a lot of fresh wild caught arctic char on sale. So, of course I took advantage. You can use this recipe with any fresh fish, whole or filleted.
Ingredients:
Whole arctic char (head removed, gutted) (or you can use other fresh whole or filleted fish)
One shallot
One lemon, grated and juice squeezed
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 tablespoon juniper berries (optional)
2 bay leaves
1/3 cup butter, cold, cut into slices
a few fresh sprigs of parsley
One bulb fennel
1/4 to 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (adjust amount to your liking)
a dash of powdered cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
First I placed the arctic char on a piece of parchment paper, that was laying on top of aluminum foil. I used the aluminum foil for easy cleanup. And I used the parchment paper, because I don’t like cooking and eating food that has been touching aluminum.
The fishmonger was very nice, and had the head removed and the fish gutted. I added salt and pepper on the inside
I then sliced a shallot
And then grated the rind of one lemon, as well as extracted the juice of the lemon
I added the sliced shallot, lemon rind and 1/2 of the juice of the lemon on the inside
I then added 2 bay leaves, dried rosemary and a tablespoon of juniper berries
This was followed by adding slices of cold butter
I then added a layer of parsley sprigs on top
I closed the fish, and made sure the ingredients were tucked in nicely. I sprinkled the top with a bit of salt and pepper. I placed the fish in an oven pre-heated to 400 deg F, and baked for 20 minutes
While the fish was baking, I made fennel salad. I first took a head of fennel and placed it on a cutting board
I removed the bottom part (just like you would with celery)
And then I split it in half
I ripped the green parts off with my hands and put them on the corner of the cutting board (I will get to them later)
I sliced the white part of the fennel and placed them in a bowl
I then finely chopped the green part. This is done because it will distribute more evenly throughout the salad giving it nice colour
I added the chopped green part on top of the sliced white parts, as well as the other 1/2 juice of lemon, olive oil and a dash of cayenne pepper. I also added salt and pepper to taste. I blended these ingredients to form the fennel salad
This is what the beautiful fish looked like when it came out of the oven
The skin peeled off very easily
With a fork, I gently lifted the cooked flesh away from the spine and bones
Here is what the final plating looked like
I should mention that for the plating I harvested some of the delicious shallot-juniper berry chutney that cooked in the center of the fish, to spread on the fish
I also scooped up the lemon-butter sauce that collected at the bottom, and poured it over the fish in the plate. DO NOT FORGET TO DO THIS - THIS IS THE BEST TASTING PART. Let me repeat…this is the best tasting part of the meal…don’t discard this liquid!!! It is phenomenal
The perfect bite…
