Friday, June 17, 2011

The Worst Leftover, Made Better

If I were to take a poll concerning the food that makes the worst leftover, I think most people would say that fish ranks right up there. It's just . . . not good left over. For me, it's barely good fresh. And when I say fresh, I mean caught-by-A.-in-our-lake-yesterday fresh. Even that kind of fish is only okay in my own, non-fish-person opinion. Don't even speak to me of that nasty commercial salmon. Gross.

ANYWAY.

So, even fresh, I can only tolerate the nice, mild white fish A. catches. But then to have to stare at whatever's left in the refrigerator for a few days, where it gets all cold and gelatinous and extremely unappetizing? No, thanks.

This is a problem. Because for one thing, I hate to waste food. I especially hate to waste food that A. has gone to all the trouble to kill himself. But the fish he brings home tend to be really large pikes and pickerels, which I just cook whole because all the bones make it impractical to fillet them and which always result in some left over. And that brings us back to cold, gelatinous fish in the refrigerator.

Enter Darina Allen and Forgotten Skills of Cooking. The MiL gave me this awesome book for Christmas, and so far the only thing I've made from it is fish pie. But that I've made at least four times already. It's the best way to use leftover fish that I can think of. I mean, really, what wouldn't benefit from being smothered in white sauce and mashed potatoes?

The original recipe calls for poaching fish fillets in milk and then using that milk to make the white sauce. Since I always have the leftover fish when I make it, though, I skip that. The rest of it is stupid simple: First, make mashed potatoes. Then saute finely chopped onion in butter; take the onion out, crank up the heat and cook some sliced mushrooms until the liquid is mostly gone. Take the mushrooms out, make a white sauce in the same pan. Pull the fish apart into small pieces, making sure to remove all the bones in the process.

This part takes the longest for me, because pike and pickerel are some seriously bony sumbitches and fish bones in food are a serious downer, so I spend a long time carefully checking each and every little piece.

But after that (teeeeeedious) job is done, I just dump the fish pieces (and whatever leftover sauce I made to go with the fish, which is most often just butter, lemon juice, and whatever herbs I have on hand), onions, and mushrooms into the white sauce, add thyme, salt, and pepper and mix it all up. Then that gets put in a glass casserole dish, topped with the mashed potato, and baked until it's all hot and brown on top. You see? It's like a shepherd's pie. Only with leftover fish. It can be made ahead, too. Bonus.

This is not a fancy recipe, and it's not particularly exotic in its flavors. But it does its job, which is to use leftover fish in a way that is appetizing to the whole family. And that includes Cubby. He loves it.

Incidentally, it's the perfect food for small, messy people who are attempting to master utensils. Because of the mashed potatoes, you see. Last night when we had this, I stirred Cubby's all up in a bowl and he swiped at it with his spoon. The potatoes make it nice and clingy, so he managed to get some of it on his spoon and in his mouth. And some of it in his nose. But that's just part of the fun of dinnertime with a toddler.

Anyway. Fish pie. You should make it next time you have leftover fish. Unless the fish you have left over is salmon, in which case I recommend calling for pizza and giving the fish to the dogs.

Happy Friday, poppets! Have a delicious weekend.

10 comments:

Drew @ Willpower Is For Fat People said...

Oh good, I'm not the only one who doesn't like salmon. All the other foodies I know seem to love it, so I spent far too long telling myself that I really should like it.

Then I realized, hey wait a second, I'm a grownup. I don't have to eat stuff just because someone else wants me to.


Word verification: unimen -- college guys

Anonymous said...

Salmon is about the only fish I can tolerate...everything else just smells, well, fishy. We only eat it because it is supposed to be good for you, otherwise, no fish would be eaten here. I buy VERY small amounts of it and it gets eaten right away. No nasty fishy leftovrs.

Anonymous said...

That sounds really tasty.
I find taking the meat off of chicken while it is still warm is easier than when it is cold....I would think fish would be the same way. And yes, tedious no matter. Beth

sheila said...

Another thing to do with leftover fish is to make fish cakes and fry them. Anything mixed with sauteed onion, egg and bread crumbs then fried until it has a nice crisp browned crust is palatable, even tasty. I sometimes do salmon this way in fact it's the only way I can stand it. Salmon, not a favored food of mine.

Anonymous said...

I with you about leftover fish - it is difficult to find it appetizing. But, your recipe sounds good. We are big fish consumers, but my husband and I live mere minutes from the Gulf of Mexico and have fresh catches regularly. At our acreage, we have the lake and delicious catfish. I love fish, but am very picky about its preparation and how it's cooked. Flounder is delicious!

Roger A. Post said...

Cold salmon makes an excellent sandwich spread when combined with mayo, onions, and sweet relish and mashed up like tuna spread. Fresh salmon (Alaska wild-caught sockeye or chinook) cooked on the barby is hard to beat. I would agree with you on farmed salmon, however.

As for pike, there is a method for filleting and deboning them, although I have never mastered it (the deboning part), only witnessed a fishing-fool friend do it.

Anonymous said...

Just remember--no raw salmon for doggies..ever! And what's with this dislike of salmon? My used-to-be Oregon heart grieves...

Becky in Utah

Daisy said...

My favorite for leftover fish is chowder. I incorporate leftover veggies into it, too. The worst? When someone brings leftover fish to work and heats it in the microwave. Ew!!

Sophie said...

OMG, salmon is the best fish--maybe even one of the best FOODS!--on the planet! But then, I grew up on an island on the Washington coast, and the salmon we had was about as fresh as your pickerel, so I may be biased that way.
I have had a very similar fish pie to what you describe (made with salmon!), and it was awesome. It was described to me as being a Norwegian dish, but I only have the word of that cook to go on...

Word verification: ketinap--a catnap for kittens

FinnyKnits said...

Ugh. Leftover fish. Who likes that? I'll tell you who - the nice Asian men in Bubba's office. They are FEARLESS with the leftover fish. They microwave it and everything. Grotesque.

Meanwhile, we have leftover fish fear too, but in the case of leftover grilled mahi, we usually make it into tacos.

And as iffy as it sounds, I may actually try your fish pie idea. Though, that may be too far even though it includes "pie" in the name.