White Wine Court Bouillon Recipes

COURT BOUILLON FOR POACHING FISH

Steps:

• For the bouillon: Place all ingredients in medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer uncovered for 20 to 30 minutes. Strain and reserve. Can be refrigerated 3 days or frozen for months.
• For the fish: Run fingers over fish fillets to feel for tiny bones; if there are any, remove with needlenose pliers or tweezers. Lightly oil or butter the bottom of a deep skillet big enough to fit fish fillets in a single layer and place fish thus in skillet. Bring court bouillon to a simmer. Gently pour court bouillon over the fish, covering completely. Turn heat on very low so that liquid steams but does not quite simmer for 2 minutes. Turn off heat and let fish sit in liquid an additional 5 minutes per inch of thickness. Start checking fish for doneness: a thin knife inserted in thickest part of fillet should meet with just slight resistance. Fish should still be slightly translucent in center. Remove fish from skillet with slotted spatula, blot the bottom lightly with a paper towel, and serve.
• For the almonds: Heat large nonstick skillet over medium flame. Add almonds and cook for 2 minutes, tossing frequently, until light brown and smelling toasty. Reduce heat to low. Drizzle oil over nuts and toss well. Sprinkle soy and lime juice over and toss well. Sprinkle cayenne, black pepper, garlic and scallion white/light greens over and toss very well. Continue to cook, stirring and tossing frequently, for 5 minutes or until nuts are dry and scallion and garlic are soft. Add scallion greens, toss again, and serve over poached bass or snapper with a wedge of lime.
• For the emulsion: Wash watercress and remove the thickest stems. Bring medium pot of water to a boil and add 1 tablespoon salt. Have a medium bowl of ice water at hand for refreshing. When water returns to the boil, plunge watercress in and cook for 30 seconds. Drain watercress and quickly drop in ice water. When thoroughly chilled, drain watercress again and lightly squeeze out water. Chop blanched watercress roughly on cutting board. Place in blender and puree, adding a little water if necessary to get the mixture going. With blender running, gradually pour in oil until emulsion is formed. Add rest of salt and pepper, puree again and taste, adjusting seasoning if needed. Serve over poached salmon.

LEG OF LAMB POACHED IN WHITE WINE COURT BOUILLON

Steps:

• Pique the boned and tied leg of lamb with slivers of garlic (cut small gashes and insert garlic) and rub it will with dried rosemary. Put wine, and equal amount of water, vegetables, and seasonings in a large kettle, bring to a boil and simmer for 25 minutes. Add lamb and bring liquid to a boil again. Cover the pan, reduce heat and simmer, allowing 15 minutes per pound of meat. Serve with Sauce Soubise. With this, drink chilled Pouilly Fuissé.

WHITE WINE BROTH WITH HERBS (COURT-BOUILLON AU VIN BLANC AUX AROMATES)

Steps:

• Combine wine and water in saucepan.
• Trim away and discard all skin and outer pulp of lemon. Add peeled lemon to saucepan. Add remaining ingredients and cook about 30 minutes or until liquid is reduced to about 1 1/4 cups. Strain, discarding solids.

COURT BOUILLON (PRONOUNCED KOO-BEE-YON)

Steps:

• Quick and easy method -- Put all ingredients into a large soup pot and simmer over low heat.
• It doesn't matter if the herbs are fresh or dried for this method. It takes about 1/2 hour to meld the flavors, but it's better to bring this rich soup/stew to a boil, then reduce the heat to simmer for at least 30 minutes.
• Toward the end of the cooking time, add lemon juice or wine. It really enhances the flavors and helps to keep the fish firm and not discolored.
• Serve the stew over hot rice in individual bowls.
• Traditional method -- Use approximately 2 pounds of your favorite fish. In the New Orleans area, red snapper is usually the fish chosen. Sometimes catfish is chosen. But any fish is delicious!
• In a cast iron skillet, make a roux by melting butter, then slowly stirring in flour until it becomes dark brown in color. Don't burn! The roux will thicken the stew and give it good flavor. Set aside.
• In a large pot, place all other ingredients and slowly add the cooked roux to this mixture, stirring constantly until combined well and the soup is thickened. If you like, you may brown the onions in another skillet before adding to this mixture.
• Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for approximately ten to fifteen minutes or until fish flakes easily. Or, you may leave the pot uncovered and allow the stew to cook down a bit, depending upon your taste.
• Adjust seasonings.
• Serve the stew over hot rice in individual bowls.
• NOTE: Here are different ways for preparing the fish.
• FRESH WATER FISH -- saute in 1 tablespoon butter, then add to stock.
• LOBSTER TAILS -- blanch or steam halfway, then run under the broiler to finish and keep them from toughening. Add to the completed stock.
• CRAB AND SHRIMP -- Undercook and let finish cooking in the cooled stock to impart the best flavor.

COURT BOUILLON

Steps:

• In a large heavy pot, combine and bring to a boil: 1 1/2 cups dry white wine, 4 cups water, 2 carrots, peeled and sliced, 1 celery stalk, sliced, 2 onions, peeled and sliced, 1 bay leaf, 7 black peppercorns, 6 coriander seeds, 3 thyme sprigs, A handful of parsley stems, 2 teaspoons salt.
• Skim off any rising scum. Turn down the heat and simmer for 45 minutes. Strain, discarding the solids.
• If there's no white wine, substitute about 2 tablespoons good white wine vinegar.

GE COURT BOUILLON

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer for 8 minutes. Strain or use chunky the first time, then strain through a fine mesh and either refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 2 months. Either way, be sure to bring to a boil before reusing.

COURT BOUILLON

Steps:

• Combine everything in a large stockpot, adding salt as desired (be careful not to oversalt at this point; you can always add more at the end). Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer 15 to 30 minutes, depending on desired intensity of flavor. Strain through a fine sieve to remove solids, if desired; cool completely before using or refrigerating in airtight containers, up to 2 days.