Filets de Poisson à la Bretonne and Riz Duxelles

The two dishes I made last night are symbolic of the experiences I had studying abroad in France in two very different parts of the country. The poached white fish with vegetables takes its name from Bretagne, the far northwest region of France called Brittany in English. When I lived in the south of France, I had many dishes that included rice which was surprising to me at the time and I have wanted to replicate some of the French flavors that were added to this basic grain.

MAFC calls for sole for most of the white fish dishes but encourages flounder as an acceptable American substitute. Le boyfriend and I visited several grocery stores in the Minneapolis suburbs trying to find flounder, or at least one of the other listed substitutes in the cookbook. Not having much luck, we decided that tilapia would be the closest fish we could find. I had never poached fish before but it was really quite simple. The fish was placed in a small metal baking dish that had been buttered and layered with green onions on the bottom. More green onions were sprinkled on top and then the fish was dotted with a little butter (less than was called for, of course) and covered in water and white wine. This pan (notice it was metal this time unlike the goose pan disaster in the last post) was placed on the burner and brought to a simmer. The recipe becomes à la Bretonne with the addition of julienned carrots, onion, and celery and sliced mushrooms that have been cooked slowly in butter. The vegetables were placed atop the fish and the pan was covered with wax paper and placed in the oven for about 8 minutes.

Poached fish and vegetables drained of liquid

When the fish came out of the oven, I drained the cooking liquid into small pot and reduced it to almost a cup. The authors instruct to then beat in a paste of butter and flour, some cream, lemon juice, and salt and pepper. This makes a bercy sauce which they describe as “the simplest of white-wine fish sauces.” However simple it may be, this sauce was wonderful! The poached fish and vegetables were then re-covered with the sauce, sprinkled with swiss cheese, and then placed under the broiler for just a few minutes more to make a nice gratiné, or browning on the top.

 

Gratinéed fish - love the lightly browned spots!

A few ingredients in the kitchen

Michael thought the fish tasted fine but I thought it was a little bland. We both agreed that the sauce was fantastic and had such a unique flavor of tartness from the wine and lemon and richness from the cream. The vegetables were also delicately cooked to the point of melting in your mouth.

The rice was not much trouble and turned out to be the perfect side to the fish and delicious with the sauce. I’ve always had difficulty making rice as it often becomes mushy or overcooked. The authors of MAFC recommend the following steps for “foolproof” steamed rice. First, the rice, water, and salt are placed in the saucepan and brought to a boil. They indicate that the rice should only be stirred once and then brought to a simmer, covered, and cooked for only 12 minutes more. My rice still became slightly starchy but it was perfectly al dente with this method. Then, I simply added diced mushrooms that had been squeezed in a cloth to remove moisture and sautéed in butter with some green onions. The rice was then seasoned with a little salt, pepper, and parsley. All done!

 

Rice with garnish

Plated meal

Look at that beautiful sauce!

Overall, this was one of the simpler meals I’ve done so far and it was every bit as delicious as the others. We had a little side salad of mixed greens and drank the rest of the Belle Sera pino grigio that had been used to poach the fish, which had a wonderful flavor to it that was not too dry. We started watching Band of Brothers last night and found it quite appropriate to see a show about the invasion of Normandy while eating French food! More French history next week…