Pan-Roasted Pickerel With Saffron Clam Vinaigrette

by Chef Keith Froggett

A lovely, light fish dish that is easy to prepare. Keith Froggett is a strong proponent of using only fish that is line-caught. And the more local it is, the better.

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 shallots, finely sliced
3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 pound small clams, washed and drained
¼ cup dry white wine
½ teaspoon grated lemon rind
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Pinch saffron

Vinaigrette:
1 shallot finely diced
¼ cup Champagne vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon minced chives
½ tablespoon chopped chervil
2 tablespoons finely diced tomato

Pickerel:
6 6-ounce pieces fresh pickerel fillet, skin on
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Vegetable oil for frying

Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots and thyme and cook for 2 minutes or until fragrant. Add clams, wine, grated lemon rind and juice. Cover and cook for 4 to 5 minutes or until clams have opened.
Tip the clams into a colander placed over a bowl to catch the cooking liquid. Strain liquid through a coffee filter to remove any sand. Pour the liquid into a clean pan over medium-high heat and add saffron. Bring to a boil and reduce to about 2 tablespoons. Let cool. Pick out clam meat from shells and finely chop it.

Place shallots and vinegar in a bowl and leave to macerate for 10 minutes. Add mustard and whisk in oil, followed by the cooled clam juice. Stir in chopped clam meat and season with salt and pepper. Add chives, chervil and tomato just before serving.

Preheat oven to 450 F.
Season the flesh side of the pickerel with salt and pepper. Dry the skin with a paper towel and season with salt only.

Heat a large ovenproof frying pan over high heat and add enough oil to form a thin film. When oil becomes hazy with heat add the fish, skin side down and immediately place pan in the oven. Roast for 5 to 6 minutes or until fish is just slightly undercooked. (It will continue cooking after it is removed from the oven.) Place fish on serving dishes and drizzle with vinaigrette.

Wine pairing by Beppi Crosariol:

Many dry, crisp, delicate white wines would work here. Sauvignon blanc from New Zealand, such as Oyster Bay, Stoneleigh or Cloudy Bay, have the citrus-like zest to fence with the vinaigrette while adding a fruity-herbal punch that would box with the pickerel. French options include Sancerre or Pouilly-Fumé (both made from sauvignon blanc), Alsatian pinot blanc, or marsanne or roussanne, two grape varieties associated with the whites of the Rhône Valley. Good Italian choices include Gavi, Vernaccia di San Gimignano or a richer pinot grigio from a top producer such as Elena Walch.

Chef Keith Froggett

Scaramouche

1 Benvenuto Place
Toronto, Ontario
Phone: 416.961.8011
Fax: 416.961.1922
www.scaramoucherestaurant.com

Other recipes by Keith Froggett
- April 2010 :: Roasted Wild Pacific Halibut with Spring Vegetable Navarin
- July 2008 :: Roasted Cod With Piperade And Parsley Beurre Blanc
- March 2007 :: Carpaccio With Raw Asparagus, Blood Orange, Fennel, Lemon And Hazelnut Oil