Pike-Perch with White Wine Sauce

I am a huge fan of regional fish, I like trout and char, it is a pity that pike-perch is not so easy to get. It is a wonderful kind of fish. You have to pull all the fish bones out, this takes a bit of time.

pike perch (700 g)
2 onions
1 clove garlic
3 Tbsp. water
fish or chicken stock (100 mL)
Riesling or any other white wine (100 mL)
double cream (200 mL)
nutmeg
piment d'Espelette
kosher or sea salt
black pepper, freshly ground
4 slices baguette, buttered
8 potatoes
2 Tbsp. breadcrumbs
2 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese, grated
4 sprigs parsley
1 knob butter
1 tsp. rapeseed oil
1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour, unbleached

Garnish:
fresh parsley leaves

Start with the white wine sauce, it takes the longest time.

Chop onions and garlic very fine and in a small pot in some oil on medium heat sauté them until softened. Add 3 Tbsp. of water, close the lid and cook for 10 minutes.

Preheat the oven 180°C.

Mix stock, wine and 50 mL of double cream and add it to the onions. Season with nutmeg, piment d´Espelette and salt and pepper. Cook for 20 minutes. Put in a blender and blitz, pour through a fine sieve back into the cleaned pot. Set aside and keep warm.

During these 20 minutes, peel the potatoes and cook them in salted water until soft, drain and mash with a fork.

Chop half of the parsley and mix it with Parmesan and breadcrumbs.

Mix this into the mashed potatoes.

Put the buttered bread into the oven for 10 minutes.

Make for equal portions of the fish, season on both sides, and flour just the skin side.

In some butter with a bit of rapeseed oil, bake the fish on the skin side until it gets golden, turn and let it sit 2 minutes on this side.

Get the bread out of the oven and put the fish in, skin side up to rest for 5 minutes.

Beat the 150 mL double cream until you have soft peaks.

Dress the mashed seasoned potatoes in the middle of the plate, stick in a piece of bread and lay the fish on to side of it. Get some of the sauce around and drop some quenelles of double cream on top to float. Finish with some parsley leaves.

Makes 4 servings.