A Fish Tale

To the rest, Merry Christmas and a healthy New Year. I heard from my favorite cousin in Trinidad on Christmas Day. She recently had fish with a white sauce at the Hilton: our upside-down hotel. Now, she wants to replicate it at home and learn the ways of cooking seafood. Sounds like this chef is on the job!

The white sauce would have been a bechamel, a basic French sauce made by by stirring milk into a butter-flour roux. The thickness depends on the proportion of flour and butter to milk.
Method :

2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2 Tbsp flour
1 cup milk
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of cayenne pepper
Salt and white pepper to taste

Heat a medium saute pan over medium heat.
Add butter and flour to pan stirring to incorporate. Keep stirring till flour is smooth and cooked about 2 minutes. Don't let ingredients brown or change color; lower fire if needed.
Add milk and keep stirring till it thickens. Should coat a wooden spoon, or about 3 minutes. Add nutmeg, cayenne, salt and white pepper to taste. Add milk as needed to thin out.

Once you have completed the basic sauce, variations are plentiful; for instance, when you see a dish made "a la king," that calls for a white sauce. First, make the white sauce and set aside. Then, in a separate pan, saute 3 ozs. diced green peppers, 3 ozs. sliced mushrooms and add 4 ozs. chopped pimiento. Add to white sauce. This could be served over cubed, cooked chicken; meats, seafood, vegetables or eggs.

For a cheese sauce, add a cup of shredded, sharp Cheddar cheese, 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce and a dash of cayenne pepper.

For a mushroom sauce, saute 4 ozs. of mushrooms and 2 Tbsp. minced onions in in 2 Tbsp. butter; add to white sauce.

You can also add chopped herbs or spices to the white sauce: dill, parsley, tarragon, curry, saffron and ginger come to mind.

As for fish, my employer, Marci thinks it is the most overcooked menu item. So, for Trinis who are new to sushi, take it from me, fish is not cooked well done. As a matter of fact, tuna should be served medium rare.

When selecting fish to cook, the flesh must be firm, with no slime on skin, should have bright red gills and eyes must be bulging.

Fish is a delicate product and is often enhanced by the addition of herbs and a sprinkle of lemon juice. When cooking fish, most methods (grilling, baking or steaming) allow for marinating the fish first. A marinade mixture should be olive-oil based, with the addition of wine or citrus juice and herbs for flavor. You can marinade for up to 4 hours. If you see the flesh turning white, the fish is cooking and should be removed from the marinade. The marinade can be boiled and used for basting the fish while cooking.

As a guide, cook fish for 8 minutes per inch, give or take a minute (3 to 4 minutes per side.) Check fish at the thickest part. If it flakes, it is done. Always remove fish from cooking utensil to stop cooking.