Last night I decided I wanted to poach the white fish that I had thawed out. It was unmarked, but I believe it was Pacific cod — it came in a pack individually frozen in pouches from Wal-Mart or Sam’s Club and I didn’t mark the bag with the type of fish. But that’s okay, it was about a half inch so it would poach easily. I admit, I have never poached fish before. I am not a big fish eater and usually I grill, fry or bake it. How hard could poaching be?

Well, several recipes with many steps later, I was revising my opinion when I ran across one that sounded pretty easy and that’s the one I adapted for my fish. It came out pretty fantastic, although I think I overcooked the fish a little, forgetting that the fish would continue to cook once it comes out of the oven. Yes, oven. This fish is poached both on the stove, then in the oven.

I added a steamed vegetable medley with a cheddar cheese sauce and a cooling cucumber and tomato salad with rice wine vinegar to complete the meal. It made a great summer dinner.

2 White Fish filets (any type), about 1/2″ thick
1/4 cup Onions, sliced
2 tablespoons Low Carb Flour for thickening
1 tablespoon Butter
Heavy Whipping Cream, .5 cup, whipped
White Wine, 2 fl oz
Lemon Juice, .5 fl oz

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter a baking dish that can go from stove to oven. I use a 1 quart cast iron or cast aluminum pot with a lid. Layer the sliced onions on the bottom, then put the fish fillets on top and dot with butter. I also sprinkled about a tablespoon of dried chives on top. Cover the fish with the white wine and water. Bring to a simmer. Cover with a lid or heavy aluminum foil and cook in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes.

Remove the fish fillets to a place or tin and cover with foil to keep warm while you prepare the sauce. If the fish isn’t quite done, it will continue to cook while it rests.

Make the sauce in the pan you baked the fish in. Mix flour and butter together to make a paste, put in a little of the juice and mix until it is smooth, adding more liquid as needed until you can easily add it to the juices in the pan. Add cream, then cook and stir until the sauce thickens. (If it won’t thicken, use a little low carb thickener like Thick It Up, or guar powder or a teaspoon of cornstarch.)

Spoon the sauce over the fish and serve. Makes two servings (and a bite or two for the cat or dog).

Nutrition Info: Calories: 287 Fat: 18.3 g Net Carbs: 2.9 g Protein: 22.3 g

POSTED BY RENE AVERETT AT 7/21/2013 3:06 PM