Swiss poached perch

Description

Perch -in French speaking cantons- or egli -in the German ones- is a delicate freshwater fish found in most lakes in Switzerland. Perch is usually cooked simply and served with a variety of herb sauces.

Summary

Yield
Servings
SourceSwiss cuisine
Prep time
45 minutes
Cooking time
Total time
45 minutes

Ingredients

4  
perch fillets (about 1 lb, rinse under cold water and pat dry)
1  
leek (washed, use trimmed greens for the poaching liquid and sliced white bulb for the sauce)
4 c
water
1 t
pickling spice
1⁄2 t
salt (or to taste)
2 T
butter
1 1⁄2 T
flour
1 pn
dill weed (can be ground)
1 pn
white pepper
2 T
sour cream

Instructions

Prepare the poaching liquid

  1. Mix water, leek greens, pickling spice, and salt in a medium-sized pan. Bring to a boil, turn heat to low and simmer gently for 30 minutes.

Cook the fish

  1. Mix water, leek greens, pickling spice, and salt in a medium-sized pan. Bring to a boil, turn heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes.
  2. Place fish fillets in a large frying pan, top with cooked leek greens, and pour over 1 cup of poaching liquid.. Cover and simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes.
  3. Scrape leek, drain fish, reserving the liquid, and remove fillets to a large serving platter. Keep in a warm oven until ready to serve.

Prepare the sauce

  1. Pour the liquid used to cook the fish through a sieve and reserve 1 cup of clear stock.
  2. Heat butter in a medium-sized pan until it melts and bubbles. Add the sliced white leek and saute, stirring frequently, until leeks are soft, about 5 minutes.
  3. Add flour and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring continuously, until flour turns light brown. Pour in 1 cup of reserved fish stock, stirring vigorously to blend to a smooth consistency. Mix dill weed, and pepper.
  4. Simmer for 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat and blend in sour cream.

Garnish and serve

  1. Pour sauce over fish fillets.
  2. Garnish with chopped dill leaves, if wished, and -waste not, want not- sprinkle with chopped tomato pieces reserved from the tomato Fribourg style recipe.
  3. Serve.

Notes

Fish can be fresh or frozen and thawed according to package instructions. If you don't have it, substitute perch with other white fish: use fillets of hake, cod or the kind of white fish available in your area.

We are olive oil fanatics, however, this would not be the cooking fat of choice in Switzerland. Substitute 2 Tbs butter with 2 Tbs olive oil to reduce saturated fat.

Ingredientss, metric  
4   pieces perch fillets, about 1 lb, rinse under cold water and pat dry  
1   whole leek, washed, use trimmed greens for the poaching liquid and sliced white bulb for the sauce  
Poaching liquid  
1 l     water  
4 g     pickling spice  
2 g     salt  
Sauce  
50 g     butter  
40 g    flour  
pinch    ground dill weed  
dash    white pepper  
50 g     sour cream  

Serving size: 1 serving

Percent daily values based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutrition information calculated from recipe ingredients.
Amount Per Serving      
Calories   102.01  
Calories From Fat (61%)   62.02  
    % Daily Value
Total Fat 7.05g   11%  
Saturated Fat 4.27g   21%  
Cholesterol 31.69mg   11%  
Sodium 313.41mg   13%  
Potassium 96.13mg   3%  
Carbohydrates 6.14g   2%  
Dietary Fiber 0.60g   2%  
Sugar 0.89g      
Sugar Alcohols 0.00g      
Net Carbohydrates 5.54g      
Protein 3.92g   8%