Friday, March 02, 2007

Boston Bluefish with tomato sauce

Sat. 24 Feb.
At Findlay Market we saw something labeled "Boston Bluefish." Not bluefish at all, but in fact a rather mild codlike thing, also called "saithe" or "pollock" (Pollachius virens), according to Alan Davidson's invaluable North Atlantic Seafood. Did this in a very straightforward sauce so as to get the true flavor of the fish.
The tomato sauce was just a little onion sweated in oil, a touch of garlic, two big pinches of basil, and a shayna punim (small pinch) of marjoram. Add half a glass of cheap white wine, and a small can of diced tomatoes. Reduce till thick. You then just slide the fillets into the sauce, cover, and poach for about 5 minutes. The fish gives off a little more liquid, so remove gently to plates, crank up the heat again, and re-reduce the sauce. Pour over. A fine wee fash, as we say in Scotland.
This recipe is among those in an article Barbara clipped from the Philadelphia Enquirer in 1990. It claims "50 recipes for fish," and has proved invaluable, as it lists the fish by type, and you can substitute any one of that type for any of the others, with adjustments for size and cooking time of course.
So here are the groups:
LEAN ROUND FISH: Black bass, catfish, cod, grouper, haddock, ocean perch, pike, pollock, pompano, porgy, roughy, scrod, sea trout, snapper, tilefish, whiting.
FATTY ROUND FISH: bluefish, salmon, shad, smelt, freshwater trout, tuna.
DENSE-MUSCLED FISH: mahi-mahi, monkfish, shark, sturgeon, swordfish.
FLAT FISH: flounder, fluke, halibut, sole, turbot.

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