Poached Fish With Saffron Vermicelli Recipes

HALIBUT FILLETS WITH CREAMY SAFFRON SAUCE

Steps:

• In a small bowl, whisk yogurt together with salt, pepper, Aleppo pepper or cayenne, and shallot. Rub saffron between your fingers to crush it, then stir it into yogurt mixture. Let sit for about 20 minutes (or covered and refrigerated for up to 2 hours). Just before serving, add juice, taste, and adjust seasoning.
• Sprinkle halibut with salt and Aleppo pepper or cayenne. Put butter in nonstick skillet large enough to hold halibut, and turn heat to medium. When the butter melts, add fish, and cook gently, turning once or twice, until a thin bladed knife meets little resistance when inserted into the thickest part, generally less than 10 minutes.
• Serve fish hot, warm, or at room temperature, with the sauce spooned over it.

SAFFRON FISH WITH RED PEPPERS AND PRESERVED LEMON

Steps:

• Pour 2 cups of boiling water into a bowl and sprinkle with the saffron strands. Use a spoon to press the saffron strands against the side of the bowl to release the flavor. Cover the bowl with a plate and set aside.
• Heat the oil in a large skillet over low. Add the bell peppers, onion, tomatoes, garlic and cilantro stems, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Increase the heat to medium-high and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion is transparent.
• Nestle the fish into the vegetables, sprinkle with the paprika, red-pepper flakes (if using), 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Pour the prepared saffron water over everything. (You can do all of this in advance 1 day in advance, and refrigerate until ready to finish.)
• When ready to cook, add the olives and preserved lemon (if using - but if using fresh lemon, that will come in Step 5). Bring the mixture to a boil over high, reduce to low, cover the pan and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, basting the fish every 5 minutes. Sprinkle with the cilantro leaves during the last few minutes of cooking.
• Taste for seasoning and serve, setting the fish on top of the vegetables. Sprinkle with fresh lemon juice, if not using the preserved lemon. Serve warm or at room temperature.

POACHED FISH WITH SAFFRON VERMICELLI

Steps:

• Poach the fish in barely simmering (not boiling) salted water for 5-10 minutes, until the flesh looks opaque when you cut into it.
• At the same time, break the vermicelli in your hand into small pieces and cook in about 5 cups of boiling salted water with the saffron until just tender, stirring vigorously so that the vermicelli do not stick together. Drain, reserving about 1 cup of the saffron water to use as a sauce. (Keep the remainder if you like-there is very little left-to pour into a soup or a stew.) Beat the olive oil into the water, season with salt and pepper, and add the parsley or cilantro.
• Serve the fish on a bed of vermicelli, with the sauce poured over.