Smoked Fish with Salsa Verde

 
My experiments with home smoking have come to a successful conclusion. It was a journey with a few hiccups, brought about by one of my readers. Some time ago, she asked me for a recipe for smoking and I am finally able to oblige.

The biggest problem with smoking here in India is the medium for producing smoke. In western countries you can buy hardwood chips without pesticides. Theoretically, you could go to a carpenter here and bag some leftovers. However, there is a good chance this wood is loaded with chemicals.

I have discovered instructions how to smoke food at home with a mixture of tea, rice, sugar and spices. This imparts a particular flavour to the food and makes a big mess. Burned sugar in combination with rice is quite an ugly sight. I have tried this method with chicken breasts, but my men refused the taste of star anise. So I tried to simplify and I have used only tea – which works well. Tea is easily available everywhere and should not contain too many pesticides.

The tricky part remains the treatment of the produce before smoking. Some people recommend placing the food between layers of salt, others suggest using brine. I have used brine. For the first time I had my fish filets sitting in the brine for two days, which made them unbelievably salty. About one to two hours does the trick. The salt removes some moisture from the flesh so the fish filets drip a bit less during smoking.

You should take only really fresh fish filets because the smoking does not reach very high temperatures. I have used frozen fish filets with good success. Ideally you would take a fish with a high fat content like salmon. As salmon is very expensive here, I have used basra fish filets (similar to cod) and it worked out well. The smoking imparts a delicate, yet distinctive flavour. I have paired it with a classic Italian sauce, salsa verde, which compliments the smoking flavour very well – at least I think so.
 
Remember to keep your windows open during smoking. The smell tends to linger in the air.

Wishing you happy cooking, always!

Kornelia Santoro with family

  Smoked Fish Filets with Salsa Verde


Ingredients for the smoked fish filets
(for 4 servings):

•  2 big fish filets
• (around 400 grams each)
•  1 cup salt1 cup black tea

Method:
  Defrost the fish filets. Prepare brine by dissolving the salt in 750 millilitres hot water. Let the brine cool down. Place the fish filets in a sufficiently big container and pour the brine over them. Let them marinate for one to two hours.

Take out the fish filets from the brine, give them a quick rinse and pat them dry with kitchen towels.

Take an old pan or wok. Spread aluminium foil over the bottom and place ¾ cup of tea onto the foil. You also need a rack, which fits on top of the pan. Arrange the fish filets on the rack.

Turn on the heat under the pan. As soon as smoke starts to develop, put the rack with the fish over the pan and seal it with a big sheet of aluminium foil. Lower the heat to medium and leave the fish for about six to seven minutes.

Remove the rack with the fish from the pan. Be careful not to burn yourself. Turn the fish and place it upside down on the rack. Scatter the rest of the tea over the bottom of the pan and let it develop smoke.

When the smoke returns, put the rack with the fish over the pan and seal it again with aluminium foil. Let it smoke for another three to four minutes. Check that the fish is cooked through. It should not appear dry, but remain a bit moist.



Ingredients for the salsa verde (for about 4 servings): 

• 2 bundles parsley
• 2 pieces of toast bread
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 7 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 anchovies
• 1 tablespoon capers
• salt and pepper

Method:
  Cut away the rind from the bread and moisten it with the vinegar. Wash the parsley well and pick the leaves from the stalks. Place the bread and the parsley into a blender. Add the anchovies, the cleaned and crushed garlic and the washed capers. Blend everything well. You want a really smooth paste. Finally mix it with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper according to taste. If you want some punch in the salsa verde, blend some fresh green or red chillies together with the bread and the parsley.
 
Serve the smoked fish with the salsa verde spread over the top.