All Easy Recipes. Cook all that you can cook. Cold Poached Fish With Avocado Sauce
(Pescado Con Salsa De Aguacate)
 
What You Need:            (To Serve: 4 to 6)
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POACHING LIQUID
  • 1 large onion, peeled and cut crosswise into thin slices
  • 1 medium-sized garlic clove, peeled and crushed with the flat side of a heavy knife
  • ½ cup finely chopped carrots
  • ½ cup finely chopped celery, including the leaves
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 medium-sized bay leaf, crumbled
  • ¼ teaspoon crumbled dried thyme
  • ¼ teaspoon crumbled dried oregano
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 5 whole black peppercorns, wrapped in a kitchen towel and crushed with a rolling pin
  • ½ cup strained fresh lime juice

    FISH
  • A 5- to 6-pound red snapper or striped bass, cleaned and scaled but with head and tail left on, or substitute any other whole firm white-fleshed fish

    AVOCADO SAUCE
  • 2 large ripe avocados
  • 3 tablespoons strained fresh lime juice
  • 1 tablespoon finely grated onion
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

  • How To Cook:
    POACHING LIQUID:
    1. In a fish poacher or a large, deep roasting pan with a cover, combine the sliced onion, garlic, carrots, celery, parsley, bay leaf, thyme, oregano, 1 tablespoon salt and peppercorns.

    2. Pour in the lime juice and 3 quarts of water, and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat, partially cover the pan, and simmer for 20 minutes. Then let the liquid cool to lukewarm.

    FISH:
    1. Wash the fish inside and out under cold running water. Without drying it, wrap it in a long double-thick piece of cheesecloth, leaving at least 6 inches of cloth at each end.

    2. Twist the ends of the cloth, tie them with string, then place the fish on the rack of the poacher or roasting pan and lower the rack into the poaching liquid. (If you are using a roasting pan, tie the strings at the ends of the cheese-cloth to the handles of the pan.) The liquid should cover the fish by at least 1 inch; add water if necessary.

    3. Bring almost but not quite to a boil over high heat, cover tightly, and reduce the heat to the lowest point. Simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the thickest part of the fish feels firm when pressed with a finger.

    4. Using the ends of the cheesecloth as handles, lift the fish from the pan and lay it on a large board or platter. Open the cheesecloth and skin the fish with a small, sharp knife by making a cut in the skin at the base of the tail and gently pulling off the skin in strips from tail to gill.

    5. Holding both ends of the cheesecloth, carefully lift the fish and turn it over onto a heated serving platter. Remove the skin on the upturned side.

    6. Let the fish cool to room temperature, cover it with foil or plastic wrap, and refrigerate it for at least 4 hours, until it is thoroughly chilled.

    AVOCADO SAUCE:
    1. Meanwhile, prepare the sauce. Cut the avocados in half. With the tip of a small knife, loosen the seeds and lift them out. Remove any brown fibers clinging to the flesh.

    2. Strip off the skin with your fingers, starting at the narrow or stem end. (The dark-skinned variety does not peel easily; if necessary use a knife to pull the skin away.)

    3. Chop the avocados coarsely, then puree them through a food mill set over a bowl, or press them through a fine sieve with the back of a spoon.

    4. Add the lime juice, grated onion, salt and a few grindings of black pepper, and mix well. Then beat in the olive oil, a teaspoon or so at a time. Taste the sauce for seasoning.

    5. The finished sauce should have the consistency of mayonnaise. To prevent it from darkening as it stands, cover the sauce with plastic wrap or foil and refrigerate until ready to use.

    6. Just before serving, spread 1 cup of the avocado sauce evenly and thickly over the skinned body of the fish. Garnish the platter, as elaborately as you like, with tomatoes, parsley sprigs, olives or sliced lime, and serve the remaining sauce in a bowl or sauceboat.

    7. Cut the fish into serving pieces as follows: With a sharp knife cut the top layer into individual portions without cutting through the spine. Leave the head and tail intact.

    8. Lift out the portions with a spatula and a fork, and place them on serving plates. Then gently lift out the backbone in one piece, discard it and divide the bottom layer of the fish into individual portions as before. Spoon a little of the reserved sauce on each portion.


     
     
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