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Alsatian Fish Stew

A stew of pike, carp, eel, perch, and crayfish simmered in a wine and broth sauce, served with onions, mushrooms, and croutons.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 20 ingredients
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Why it works: Shallot and flour match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,081 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓

Alsatian Fish Stew

Serves 6
Oven450°F
Time10 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the fish

  1. Wash the fish and remove any remaining debris.

  2. Cut the fish into approximately 2 oz pieces.

  3. Place fish and crayfish in a buttered baking dish.

  4. Add the finely minced shallots.

  5. Salt lightly.

Make the fumet and poach

  1. Prepare a fumet with the fish heads and tails, the Riesling, 1 quart water, the bouquet garni and the garlic, salt and pepper.

  2. Simmer for 30 minutes.

  3. Strain the boiling fish stock over the pieces of fish in the baking dish.

  4. Cover with aluminum foil.

  5. Place in the oven at 450°F.

  6. Bake for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven.

Make the sauce

  1. Place the stock in a casserole or a cocotte en fonte (Dutch oven).

  2. Mix the butter with the flour.

  3. Add this to the liquid, stirring well to avoid lumps.

  4. Reduce to the desired thickness.

  5. Add the cream, and heat gently until it comes to the boil.

  6. Stop the cooking and strain through a chinois.

Serve

  1. Arrange the pieces of fish on a well-heated plate and coat with sauce.

  2. Sauté the onions and mushrooms.

  3. Add this mixture to the plate with a few croûtons rubbed with garlic.

  4. Add one crayfish per plate.

  5. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

960Calories
37 gProtein
32 gFat
124 gCarbs

Counts 12 of 16 ingredients. The other 4 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 12 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Salmon100g cooked208
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Cream1 tbsp (15ml) heavy51
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Wine2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)25
Mushroom1/2 cup sliced (35g)15
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Parsley1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)1
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Pikenot in our table0
Carpnot in our table0
Eelnot in our table0
Crayfishnot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Wikibooks Cookbook.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Shallot + flourtop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,081 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  2. Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  3. Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together43,450 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).

  4. Crayfish + buttertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together343 recipes

    Shared aroma: anethole (sweet, anise).

  5. Fish + buttertop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,488 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Butter
Enriches the sauce and, with flour, forms a roux that thickens it.
Flour
Thickens the stock into a sauce when cooked with butter.
Cream
Adds richness and a smooth, velvety texture to the sauce.
Riesling wine
Adds acidity and aroma to the fumet that flavours the fish and sauce.
Shallots
Add a mild aromatic sweetness to the fish as it cooks.
Fresh white mushrooms
Add earthy flavour and moisture when sautéed with the onions.

The step that matters

Adding the butter and flour to the stock. Stirring the flour into the hot liquid with butter, and whisking well, prevents lumps. Lumps form when flour clumps before it disperses, so a smooth sauce depends on stirring constantly.

Swap the shallot

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (crayfish, fish, wine, sugar, butter, flour, cream):

  1. Shallotthe original
  2. Potatofits about as well
  3. Chivefits about as well
  4. Asparagusfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against crayfish, fish, wine, sugar, butter, flour, cream. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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