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Jeff Berry is an early adopter of the Internet and the Web, a late adopter of Twitter, and declines to adopt Facebook. With the death of Google+, he migrated to the Fediverse. He admins a medievalist Mastodon instance. He hates cell-phones. |
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This conversation has been played out between my wife and I, nearly every time I buy fish.
"Honey, I've got this nice piece of fish, how shall I cook it?" I ask.
"Sautéed with lemon juice and capers!" replies my wife.
Now, that's all well and good, but sometimes a man wants to mix it up a bit. Not too much, of course, he still wants his wife to be happy with the result, and she likes lemon and capers. It's a classic combination, after all - for me it's what defines a Grenobloise. You can change the lipid, vary the herbs and greenery a bit, and so forth, but as long as it's got lemon and capers it feels Grenobloisy. So, what to do?
The answer came to me in a flash, as I was remembering all the times the fillet had partly stuck to the pan and nearly come apart, I would make a virtue out of necessity! By shredding the fish and turning it into something more like a sauce, I would avoid any worry about keeping the fillet in once piece.
When the onions start to soften, put the pasta in to cook. Then add the fish to the saucepan. In a minute or two, turn it over. In another minute or so, it should start to be flakable with a fork. Flake it. With a fork. Add some lemon juice and some capers. Taste it. If it needs more lemon or caper, add it. If it needs salt. Add it. If you're going to add a bunch of greens, then be slightly heavy-handed at this point.
Add the greens and mix them thoroughly through. When the pasta is just about done, add a splash of olive oil, or butter if you prefer. Drain the pasta, put the fish and sauce on the top and devour.
We usually use a basic white fish, but it would work well with other kinds of fish. Skate is a classic for a Grenobloise. I may try mackerel soon. For the greens, something relatively tender is probably best. Spinach is alright, but cabbage would be a bit much - remember, the greens are only going to cook for a few minutes.
If you do add greens, then it's pretty much a complete meal, and almost a one-pot meal. Technically, the pasta is in a second pot, but that barely counts.