Waterzoi cod, shrimps, mussels and clams / Waterzoi monkfish and scallops
Boiling water?
The waterzoi is one of those many dishes based on a fish broth and
combining different variety of fish or seafood. In France, we have, among other
things, the cotriade, the bourride, the matelote,
the bouillabaisse, of course... The waterzoi is not stricto
sensu a French dish although it is very common in the North of France
where it is considered as an iconic dish in, and of, the region. This is
originally a specialty from the Flemish speaking part of Belgium, from where it
has conquered the "stomachs" of the neighbors in Netherlands and the
North of France. This explains its name, which could also be spelt waterzoï,
waterzooi, waterzooï... The waterzoi (let's go for the simplest way to spell
it) has another common point with the bouillabaisse: its name describes by
itself the recipe. Bouillabaisse is short for bouillir, puis baisser ("boil
then simmer") while waterzoi means "boiling water" in Flemish.
We will see that this is very theoretical since, for instance, the two recipes
featured here are not using water, at least in its primitive form, but fish
broth and beer. I imagine that, originally and like for the bouillabaisse, the
Flemish fishermen used to put all types of fish and vegetables in a
boiling water pot, and let the whole cook together. And like for the
bouillabaisse, the techniques have improved, allowing for instance to modulate
the cooking time of each ingredients.
Celeriac or celery?
The waterzoi, at least in the North of France, is said to have
three compulsory ingredients: carrots, leeks and celeriac and/or celery.
Regarding the latter, since those two "sister" plants carry the same
name (céleri) in French, one can find either one, or both, in the
waterzoi recipes that I have read. However, personally, I think that the celery
is more adapted: this is a real vegetable whereas celery is what is called in
French an aromate, i.e. a plant that, like herbs, are used to
flavor a dish. Don't forget that this dish was supposed to feed hungry
fishermen and their family, and I don'think the celery would have reached this
purpose, even if put in great quantities, not mentioning its strong taste then.
So, I used celeriac. And I used the celeriac greens, instead of celery, as
an aromate.
Those three vegetables are cooked (almost) together with other
vegetables: potatoes, turnips... and one or several varieties of fish and/or
shellfish, or even chicken.
I am featuring here two recipes that differ mainly by the
ingredients used. In both cases, a very healthy and tasty dish, typically in
winter time.
Difficulty
|
Cost
|
Prep time
|
Cook time
|
n
|
$$
|
1 hour
|
30 min
|
Ingredients
Waterzoi monkfish and scallops:
§ Monkish fillet
§ Scallops
§ Carrots
§ Celeriac (with its greens)
§ Leeks
§ Turnips
§ Watermelon radishes
§ Onion
§ Monkfish broth
§ Crème fraîche (or heavy cream)
§ Egg yolk
§ Butter
§ Herbs and spices: bay leaves, cloves, flat parsley, pink
pepper...
Waterzoi cod, shrimps, mussels and clams:
§ Cod fillet
§ Shrimps
§ Mussels
§ Clams
§ Carrots
§ Celeriac (with its greens)
§ Leeks
§ Turnips
§ Belgian endives (called chicons in Northern
France, same origin as "chicory")
§
Radicchio (I like
the color)
§
Onion
§
Beer (Belgian of
course, here a full bottle of Stella Artois)
§ Crème fraîche (or heavy cream)
§ Egg yolk
§ Butter
§ Herbs and spices: bay leaves, cloves, flat parsley, pink
pepper...
|
Principles
1.
Put a generous
quantity of butter in a pan, at medium/low
2.
When melted, add
the thinly chopped onion, then the leek, cut in short segments, and stir them
up so that they are coated with butter
3.
Add the herbs and
spices (including the celeriac greens)
4.
Add the vegetable
roots, cut in segments, slices, dices, sticks... and coat them with the
butter (and add butter if need be!)
5.
Add the broth or
the beer, and put to boil
6.
When it boils, put
the fish and shellfish in a strainer (or a pressure cooker basket or a couscoussier top)
above the vegetable pan, lid on, and steam them on medium/low
7.
Take account of
each ingredient cooking time. For instance, clams are longer to cook than
mussels. This is why you should either put the clams first or remove the
mussels first. Likewise, monk fish medallions are longer to cook than scallops
8.
A personal twist
used for the monk fish: I rolled it in previously blanched leek greens, and
then wrapped in a cling wrap, before steaming it like that (~20 minutes).
9.
In case you use
endives, sliced or chopped, add them 10 minutes before the end
10.
In case you use
radicchio, chopped, add it 5 minutes before the end
11.
When all
vegetables and fish/shellfish are cooked, withdraw part of the broth, strain
it, adjust the seasoning, and mix it with crème fraîche, in the proportion of
around 1 tbsp. of crème fraîche (or 2 tbsp. of heavy cream) per cup of broth.
12.
Add the yolk, in
the proportion of 1 yolk for 2 cups broth, after having diluted it with a
little bit of broth
13.
Serve the
vegetables, the fish/shellfish in a bowl or hollow plate, and cover with the
clams
14.
Spread some
chopped parsley, few pink pepper corns, and a few drops of lemon (or, this my
Lorraine's side, of vinegar)
|
Gallery
 |
Waterzoi monkfish and scallops |
 |
Waterzoi cod, shrimps, mussels and clams |
Comments
Post a Comment