Fried Fillet of Pike with Crayfish Sauce and Two Types of Mashed Potato
Using pike just for making pike cutlets is a prejudice that I would like to overcome. It is our best fresh water fish! On the programme I made two different types of mashed potato, something that one rarely does at home.
INGREDIENTS:
Number of servings
Servings: 4
Roughly Mashed Potatoes
500 g. (17,6 oz.) potatoes from Ringerike (a municipality in Norway)
1 dl. (3,4 fl. oz.) milk
1 tbs. butter
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. grated nutmeg
Finely Puréed Potatoes
500 g. (17,6 oz.) almond potatoes
250 g. (8,8 oz.) butter
½ dl. (1,7 fl. oz.) milk
½ tsp. salt
Crayfish Sauce
500 g. (17,6 oz.) crayfish shell, or shell from lobster, prawns or Norway lobster
1 clove of garlic
1 tbs. finely chopped shallots
2 dl. (6,8 fl. oz.) water
2 tablespoons of cognac
1 lump of unsalted butter, if required
Pike with Caraway
800 g. (28,2 oz.) fillet of pike, divided into 4 pieces
1 tsp. freshly ground caraway
Salt and pepper to taste
Butter for frying
PREPARATION:
Roughly mashed potatoes: Cook the potatoes and peel some of them, but not all. Add the milk and butter and mash them roughly. Add salt and nutmeg to taste.
Finely Pured Potatoes: Cook the potatoes, peel them and press them through a fine sieve over a bowl, or use a potato press. Melt the butter in a saucepan with the milk. Return the mashed potatoes to the saucepan and whisk in the butter and milk mixture. Add salt to taste.
Crayfish Sauce: Saut the crayfish shells in a hot frying pan with the onions and garlic until lightly browned. Add the water and cognac and boil for ten minutes. Strain and then continue cooking until just a few tablespoons of the stock are left. Whisk in the butter, if required. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Pike with Caraway: Season the fillets and fry them in the butter in a hot pan until they acquire a nice golden brown crust and the meat flakes away when you prick it with a fork.
Serve the fish with the roughly mashed and finely pured potatoes, surrounded by the crayfish sauce.