Jackson's Striped Bass

One of the joys of living on the Vineyard is that, occasionally, a fisherman shows up at your door with a 25 pound striped bass.  Here is what to do.  Scale and filet the fish.  Freeze one filet for some other day. Do the following with the other half.

Make five cups of fish stock - either out of the head and bones of the fish or use dashi.  Reduce the stock to 2 1/2 cups.  Add 2 cups heavy cream. Reduce this back to 2 1/2 cups.

Reduce the heat and stir in bits of beurre manie, made by kneading together 1 Tbsp each of flour and softened butter. Simmer the sauce until it is smooth and thickened and keep it warm. Reserve the sauce.

Put your filet, skin side down on a rack in a 24" fish poacher.  Sprinkle the fish with minced shallot, salt and pepper.  Pour 1 cup dry white wine over the fillets, bring it just to the boiling point over high heat, and poach the filet on top of the stove until done, when the fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Remove the fish on its rack and let drain and keep warm.

While the fish is cooking, make pasta - noodles or shell shapes work well. When the pasta is done but still al dente, toss it with 1/2 cup of the cream sauce and 3 tablespoons softened butter.

Slice finely 1/4 lb baby spinach or sorrel, washed, drained, and heavy stems removed, add it to the reserved cooking juices, and reduce the mixture over moderately high heat to a quarter or less, stirring occasionally. Stir the mixture into the cream sauce.

In a small bowl beat 3 egg yolks, stir in 1/3 cup of the cream sauce to temper it.  Then stir the egg mixture into the rest of the cream sauce and heat.

Serve the fish over the pasta and the sauce on top.

This goes very well with a tomato and mozarella salad dressed with olive oil and a sweet balsamic vinegar.  Strawberries dusted with powdered sugar and whipped cream are a good dessert.

Serves 6