Grilled Pancetta Wrapped River Fish With Three Cabbage Rice Salad Recipes

GRILLED PANCETTA-WRAPPED TROUT WITH VERJUS, CRUSHED GRAPES, AND FENNEL GRATIN

Steps:

• Heat a medium sauté pan over medium heat for 1 minute. Add the butter, and when it foams, stir in the red onion. Add the thyme, a healthy pinch of salt, and a pinch of black pepper. Sauté about 10 minutes, until the onion is translucent and soft. Add the sorrel to the pan, and stir to combine. Turn the heat up to medium-high, add the cream, and cook, stirring continuously, about 3 minutes, as the cream reduces and coats the onions. Taste for seasoning, and transfer to a plate to cool completely.
• Lay the trout, skin side down, on a cutting board, open like a book. Season lightly with salt and pepper, and spread the sorrel onions on one side of each fish. Fold the fish back together, and wrap each trout with a piece of pancetta, spiraling the meat around the fish like the stripe on a candy cane. Refrigerate the fish until 15 minutes before cooking.
• Light the grill 30 to 40 minutes before cooking.
• Meanwhile, using a mortar and pestle, pound the grapes until they're partially crushed. Transfer to a bowl, and stir in 2 tablespoons olive oil, the parsley, a healthy pinch of salt, and a pinch of black pepper.
• When the coals are broken down, red, and glowing, brush the trout with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill the trout 3 to 4 minutes on each side, rotating the fish a quarter-turn after a couple of minutes, to get the skin crispy.
• Scatter the watercress on a large platter, and place the trout on top. Spoon the warm verjus sauce over the fish, and top with the crushed grapes. Serve the fennel gratin at the table.
• Place the grapes, shallot, and verjus in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add 1/8 teaspoon salt, and simmer until the liquid is reduced by three-quarters. Let the mixture cool until lukewarm.
• Transfer to a blender, and, with the motor running, add the cold butter a little at a time, blending until the butter is just incorporated. Taste for seasoning, and add a little lemon juice, a pinch of pepper, and more salt if you like. Return the sauce to the pan, cover, and keep in a warm place. Reheat just before serving.
• Preheat the oven to 425°F.
• Toast the fennel seeds in a small saucepan over medium-high heat 2 to 3 minutes, until they release their aroma and are a light gold color. Using a mortar and pestle, pound the seeds coarsely.
• Trim the root end of the fennel, cut the stalks off where they meet the bulb, and peel off any outer layers that are brown or bruised. Cut the bulb in half lengthwise, leaving the core intact. Place the halves, cut side down, on a cutting board, and slice the fennel thinly lengthwise. You should have about 6 cups of sliced fennel.
• Toss the fennel in a large bowl with the onion, thyme, bay leaves, fennel fronds, fennel seeds, and 1/3 cup olive oil. Season with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and a pinch of pepper.
• Slice the potatoes on a mandoline into 1/16-inch-thick slices. Toss the potatoes in a medium bowl with the cream and 1 teaspoon salt.
• Add the potatoes and parsley to the fennel, scraping all the cream into the bowl. Toss well to combine, and taste for seasoning.
• Arrange one layer of potato slices in the pan, overlapping them slightly, on the bottom of a gratin dish. (For this recipe, I like to use a copper or black iron dish, so the potatoes get extra crisp.)
• Toss the remaining fennel-potato mixture again, and arrange it over the layer of potatoes. Pour all the remaining creamy juices over the top. Bake about 45 minutes, until the potato is cooked and the fennel is golden and slightly crispy on top.
• You can stuff and wrap the fish the morning before you plan to grill it. Both the fennel gratin and the verjus sauce can also be prepared ahead of time and reheated before serving.

GRILL-ROASTED WHOLE FISH STUFFED WITH FRESH HERBS AND WRAPPED IN PANCETTA

Steps:

• Grilling Method: Indirect/Medium Heat
• Rinse fish and pat dry. Season with salt and pepper inside and out. Place fresh herbs inside cavity of fish. Lightly oil both sides of fish. Wrap seasoned, oiled fish with pancetta or bacon that is thinly sliced and unrolled. Wrap fish loosely, mummy-style, with the pancetta, leaving head and tail exposed.
• Place fish in center of cooking grate. Cook until opaque, but still moist in thickest part (10 to 15 minutes). Remove from grill.
• Place fish onto platter and serve immediately.

GRILLED PANCETTA WRAPPED WHOLE FISH WITH FRESH HERBS

Steps:

• Rinse fish and pat dry. Season to taste inside and out. Place fresh herbs inside cavity of fish. Lightly oil both sides of fish. Wrap seasoned, oiled fish with pancetta that is thinly sliced and unrolled. Wrap fish loosely with the pancetta leaving head and tail exposed.
• Set fish in center of cooking grate. Cover grill. Cook until opaque, but still moist in thickest part (10 to 15 minutes). Turn once during cooking. Remove from grill. Peel off top layer of skin. Slide fish onto platter. To serve slide a wide metal spatula between flesh and bones, and lift out each portion.

PANCETTA-WRAPPED FISH WITH GRAIN MUSTARD SAUCE

Steps:

• Use any fish with a firm texture and mild, sweet flavor. White fish such as halibut, sea bass or cod.
• Preheat oven to 350º.
• Wrap 2 or so slices of pancetta around each piece of fish, making sure to cover end to end.
• Place fillets in a very hot skillet lined with olive oil. Cook for about 2 minutes on each side, making sure all sides are browned. Carefully remove fillets from pan and transfer to an oven-proof dish. Place in oven for about 5 minutes to cook through. Remove from oven and let fish rest for another 5 minutes before serving.
• Grain Mustard Sauce:.
• In a medium-sized non-reactive pan, combine the clam juice, white wine, vinegar, shallot, and bay leaf. Place over high heat and reduce to ¼ cup of liquid (about 15 to 20 minutes). Add cream and return to a boil. Continue to boil for about 2 minutes.
• Remove from heat and slowly whisk in butter. Whisk in mustard and season with salt and pepper if desired. If not using right away, keep the sauce warm in a double boiler until needed, adding a little hot water if the consistency becomes too thick.
• Place a fillet in the center of each plate and drizzle with mustard sauce. Garnish with a light salad or seasonal vegetable if desired.

CHINESE FIRE POT WITH FISH BALLS

Steps:

• For the table, jars/small bottles of the following to make your own dipping sauce:
• Thread beef, chicken, shrimp, fishballs and scallops on wooden skewers and set aside. Combine water and chicken stock in an electric wok and bring to a boil. Add mung bean noodles, cabbage, bok choy and shiitake mushrooms. Place skewers in pot and cook according to individual taste. Ladle broth into bowls with skewered meats and seafood and serve with condiments.
• Fish Balls:
• In a food processor, puree fish with egg yolks until smooth. Add pepper, salt, sesame oil, fish sauce, and chilies; pulse processor a few times. Transfer mousse to a large, chilled bowl and fold in the scallions. Using a mixer, lift the egg whites to a stiff peak. Gently fold in the egg whites with the mousse. Cook a very small portion either in boiling water or in a microwave oven to verify seasonings. Using wet hands, make small balls (1-inch in diameter). Quickly blanch in salted boiling water for only 2 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool.

THIEBOU DIENN SOUS VERRE (SENEGALESE RICE AND FISH STEW)

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large stockpot and brown the onion. Add the smoked fish, the tomato paste, and 1/4 cup of the salted water. While the onion mixture is browning, prepare the stuffing for the sea bass steaks by placing the parsley, garlic, chile, and scallions in a food processor and pulsing until they form a thick paste. When the paste is ready, score the sea bass steaks and poke the stuffing into the slits.
• Place the sea bass in the stockpot with the onion mixture, allow it to cook for 5 minutes, and add the remaining water. When the fish mixture comes to a boil, cover the pot, lower the heat, and add the vegetables in the order given, finishing off with the pricked habanero chile, which you will remove (and reserve) when the thiebou dienn is spicy enough for you. Cook for 20 minutes. Remove the sea bass steaks keeping them whole, and place them on a serving platter. Cover them with a bit of the cooking liquid, and keep them warm.
• Continue cooking the thiebou dienn for an additionaly 15 minutes, then remove the vegetables and arrange them on a platter and keep them warm. Reserve 2 cups of the cooking liquid to make the sauces. Return the remaining liquid to a boil, add the rice, cover, and cook for 20 minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is done.
• While the rice is cooking, pulverize the habanero chile that you have reserved and add it to 1 cup of the reserved cooking liquid. Heat it, stirring occasionally, and place it in a sauceboat. Heat the remaining cup of reserved cooking liquid and place it in a separate sauceboat. This will give you a regular sauce and a fiery hot one.
• When ready to serve, mound the rice on one platter and the fish and vegetables on another. Alternatively, you can place the rice in a large basin or deep dish and arrange the vegetables and fish on top and eat Senegalese-style with your hands (right hand only, please!) or with a large spoon.