Artic Char is one of my favorite fishes. A bit milder than salmon, this fish has a just-firm-enough texture and a beautiful skin. In this particular treatment the fish is not seasoned at all, but is topped with a rich pureed mushroom, rice wine and butter sauce and some pan carmelized shallots and leeks. This high quality fish deserves a bed of high quality udon noodle.
The fresh shitakes, which I found at Devon Market, were bursting with flavor, and I was tempted just to use them pureed with nothing else. But I wanted to try something a little more complex. The rice wine I also bought at the Devon Market has a label the says ‘For Gournet Cooking’ It’s a bit salty, but it reduced and mellowed nicely.
fillet of Artic Char
5-6 medium size shitakes
one medium sized leek
4 shallots, peeled and chopped
1 sprig green garlic
1 slice of Kolozsvari Hungarian bacon or similar smoked, salt pork.
1 bundle of udon noodles
half a cup of rice wine
butter
grapeseed oil
Put the leeks in some boiling water. Depending on the size, they’ll take 7-8 minutes which is enough time to get the mushroom sauce done.
Pan saute the sliced mushrooms in some oil, butter and - the secret ingredient - a super smoky Kolozsvari Hungarian bacon. Also found at the Devon Market. Slice it thin and use it sparingly, just to add some smoky salty pork fat goodness. I used about three postage stamp size pieces for 5 medium sized shitakes. When the mushrooms are just browning, add a thinly sliced shallot and a minced sprig of green garlic. Brown everything. Remove the bacon, since its too much for the puree (you might as well just eat it). Puree the rest adding about 3-4 tablespoons of rice wine, and about 4-5 ozs of water. I threw in a few drops of Madeira for a touch of sweetness. Return the puree to the pan with a tablespoon of butter and reduce gently.
Put some udon into some boiling water, you’ll have 8-9 minutes to do the fish before the noodles are done.
Score the skin of the char, and pan grill the fish skin down in some butter and oil. Try not to rip off the very pretty skin when you flip it. In the same pan, after you’ve flipped the fish once add the rest of the chopped shallots and the chopped leeks removed from the boiling water. Save a leek or two for garnish. The fish will be ready when just colored on both sides. Remove it, and continue to pan saute the shallots and leeks until they reach a nice color.
Plate the fish on top of the drained udon, sprinkle with the shallots and leeks, and drizzle with the reduced shitake sauce.