Braised Haddock

For many Italian families Fridays menu during Lent is oftentimes fish. Living in Maine you can imagine how much seafood we can consume here, and for us fresh haddock is right up there on our hit parade of choices. Typically served baked or fried, up and down our coastline, but the delicate texture and flavor is lost due to cooking it this way. For me simpler is even better. Gently poaching haddock in a flavorful broth is one of the ways to really enjoy this wonderful fish. I seldom prepare my haddock the same way twice with the exception of this dish--braised haddock. It was a favorite of my Dads.. very simple to prepare, and just oh so good!



1 TBLS unsalted butter
1TBLS olive oil
2 slices pancetta, diced
1 shallot, diced
1 small onion, sliced
1 small fennel bulb, very thinly sliced
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 small zucchini, sliced thin
2 tsp savory
1 tsp basil
1 1/2 cups diced plum tomatoes
1/4 cup pitted Kalamata olives, chopped
1 1/2 pounds fresh haddock filets
coarse ground pepper
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

In a large skillet melt butter with olive oil and sautee pancetta until just crisp. Add onions, shallot, fennel, herbs and sautee until vegetables are just tender, about 10 minutes. Add wine, stir in tomatoes and olives and simmer 5 minutes to thicken slightly. Place the haddock filets on top and to the side of the vegetable mix and top with zucchini slices. Ladle the sauce over fish pieces and a grind of pepper. Cover skillet and slowly cook for another 10-12 minutes over medium heat until fish flakes. Uncover and top with grated cheese and serve. Enjoy!

Down to the Docks

I guess it's easy to see we are major seafood lovers here. With our abundant selection of fresh fish and shellfish, some days it's just hard to decide what to choose. Saturday I headed up to the Portland docks to one of my favorite fish markets.. Harbor Fish Market. This is always a fun visit for me, but deciding on what I want to bring home, another story. I seldom settle on just the 'daily specials'.

So I thought some of you other seafood lovers might like to see some of the many selections they offer and why it's so hard for me to make up my mind. ;) This market is just wonderful... a throwback in time, with such a varied assortment of seafood specialties and freshest of fish to choose from. With a wonderfully knowledgable and friendly staff, it's easy to see why they've been around for over thirty years.

A few fish selections..







Countless clams, mussels & oysters than you know what to do with..




Some things you really may not know what to do with LOL :-)







And I haven't even headed over to the perriwinkle, crab, shrimp or lobster tanks yet! LOL Perhaps now you understand my dilemma. But even if you aren't a seafood lover.. this market is one special place to visit if you are ever in our neck of the woods.

I settled on sockeye salmon filets, swordfish, fresh lump crabmeat and couldn't pass up the 'special' on haddock. So, last night we had Grilled Salmon & Beurre Blanc.. yum!



Grilled Salmon & Beurre Blanc

4-5 salmon filets
dark brown sugar
1 tsp dillweed
lemon juice
extra virgin olive oil

Beurre blanc sauce:

A traditional Beurre blanc sauce is made with no cream, a rich white butter sauce made with a reduction of vinegar or wine and some add a bit of heavy cream to stabilize it…though Chef Anthony Burdain would argue this point..he wrote in his novel "There is no, I repeat, no, cream in a real beurre blanc ... You see any mention of cream in there? No ... you put cream in there, it ain't a beurre blanc". But I still prefer adding a bit of cream to my sauce.

1/2 cup Sauvignon Blanc
2/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 lb unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
drizzle of balsamic vinegar
fresh thyme
juice of ½ lemon
sea salt & white pepper

· Rinse & pat dry salmon filets. Sprinkle with lemon juice & dillweed. Rub olive oil over salmon filets. Now dredge filets in a bowl of dark brown sugar. Set aside until ready to grill.

Beurre Blanc sauce:

· In a sautee pan add the wine – reduce to ½ on medium heat
· Add cream and reduce this also to ½ on medium heat
· Add a drizzle of good balsamic vinegar, fresh thyme, lemon juice, salt &
pepper
· Now lower the heat & add your chilled cut butter a few pieces at a time,
whisking with each addition until creamy and reduced by ½ once again.



Grill dredged salmon filets for approximately 8 minutes, each side ( depending on thickness of filets) over a medium heat. The sugar glaze heats rapidly, so keep your eye on the filets… don’t scorch. Once cooked, spoon Beurre blance sauce on and serve. Enjoy!

New England Fish Chowder

There are so many 'authentic' New England chowder recipes, but to us Maineiacs the essentials of a really nice fish chowder seldom change.. a bit of onion, celery, potatoes, salt pork, fish stock, milk with a dab of butter, a bit of cream and fresh parsley to finish it off. You shouldn't be able to stand a spoon up in a traditional fish chowder, as any New England cook will attest. No flour, constarch, agar need be added. The thickener in this chowder comes from the cream and potato starch, leaving you with a broth that is slightly thicker than milk, and one that captures the delicious fresh fish flavor than overwhelm it with a flour based thickener

Most Mainers are pretty partial to haddock and I'd have to agree. It's well suited to fish chowder with it's wonderful flavor and perfect texture that breaks up nicely into larger chunks in the soup. I will oftentimes use a mix of white fish of cod, cusp, scrod or even flounder to my haddock base.

Chowders also improve with a bit of a rest. I like to make my chowder early in the day, cover and gently rewarmed just before serving. It's a great dish, made with few ingredients and generally served with common soda crackers, oyster crackers or a nice crusty bread. Enjoy!




1 1/2 lb fresh haddock
1/2 lb total.. cod,scrod,cusp or flounder
1/4 cup cubed salt pork or 5 slices bacon, roughly cut
1 small onion, diced
2 celery stalks diced
6 medium potatoes, cubed
1/2 cup clam juice or fish stock
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 pads butter
sea salt, ground pepper to taste
1 TBLS fresh parsley

In a stockpot over medium heat cook the salt pork or bacon until lightly browned. Add onion, celery and cook until the celery is just barely soft. Add potatoes, clam juice or fish stock and enough water to cover potatoes by 2 inches. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer, cooking for 20 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender. Allow to cool for 5 minutes and at very light simmer add the milk and cream.. stir well.. then place your cut up haddock, fish filets gently on top, Cover pot and simmer for 15 minutes or until fish is opaque and flakes easily. Add sea salt, ground pepper and two pads of butter. Stir up pot once and allow chowder to rest before serving.