The name is not attractive–sounds a bit like what afflicted Michael Gambon in a Dennis Potter film some years ago.
It actually means fish cooked with a lot of garlic.
This is a classic Greek village dish–traditionally taken to the local bakery’s oven in the morning, to be ready by lunchtime.
Rena Salaman, in her book Greek Food, says the fish you chose was determined by the importance of the occasion.
It’s just the two of us tonight, so when I saw that the Friday fishmonger in Lautrec was selling pollack—lieu jaune–for 11 euros a kilo, I figured this was the moment to try this eco-friendly fish.
I asked him to fillet it, which he did in a trice.
I complimented him: “Vous avez le savoir -faire, Monsieur!” He has the proper knife too.
(You can cook the fish whole, of course.)
This is adapted from Rena Salamon’s excellent book.
The fillets weigh just over 8oz/250gms each.
for 2
2 pollack fillets– about half a pound each. You could choose haddock, cod, monkfish, red or grey mullet or other firm-fleshed white fish
juice of a lemon
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions–finely sliced
1 stick of celery–finely sliced
4 cloves of garlic–finely sliced
1lb/450gms tin of tomatoes–drained of juice and broken up
2 tablespoons parsley–finely chopped
1 small wine glass of white wine
salt and freshly milled black pepper
2 tablespoons wholewheat/rye breadcrumbs
Oil a baking dish that will hold the fillets with a tablespoon of the oil.
Lay the fillets–cut into pieces or whole–in the dish.
Pour over the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.
Leave to marinate for about an hour.
Heat the oven to 180C/350F.
Gently sauté the onions, garlic and celery until they collapse–being careful not to brown them.
Add the tomatoes and the wine to the onions, garlic and celery.
Mix and season well.
Cook this gently for 15-20 minutes.
Add the parsley and cook for a further few minutes.
Spoon this mixture over the fish and sprinkle with breadcrumbs.
Bake in the centre of the oven for 30-40 minutes.
That looks beautiful! Love all the garlic.
Hee, hee, hee…..this really looks lovely – I will HAVE to try it! But I have to say that you are really cute….If you thought you may have paid more than you planned for this fish, you did. Look again at the price tag – it’s marked 17,00 € a kilo…not 11. At that price, he better filet that fish with his very “special” knife!
I mixed up what I paid with the price tag.
Thanks Judy, I’ll make the adjustment.– we thought the lieu-jaune was OK.
This looks pretty good! I’ve always been a fan of fish with crumbs rather than batter – blame that on Bird’s Eye Fish Fingers, I suppose…
Rob, I was pointed at your blog by Dom Wade, who thought I’d enjoy it. He was right. Good work, and keep those recipes coming!