Nage Courte of Striped Bass

From the Essential Pépin tv series, Episode 125: Ocean Options

If you can’t find striped bass where you live, replace it with a fish of approximately the same size — anything from red snapper to porgy to black sea bass.—Jacques Pépin

Serves 4

4 strips lemon zest, removed with a vegetable peeler
1 leek (about 5 ounces), trimmed (leaving some green), split, washed, and cut into julienne strips (about 2 cups)
1 large carrot, peeled and cut into julienne strips (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped celery
1 small red onion, thinly sliced (1 cup)
5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced (1 1/2 tablespoons)
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon salt
4 skin-on striped bass fillets (about 6 ounces each)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Stack the strips of lemon zest and cut into fine julienne strips. (You should have about 1 1/2 tablespoons.)

Combine zest, leek, carrot, celery, red onion, garlic, water, wine, olive oil, butter, and salt in a large stainless steel saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover, reduce the heat to medium, and boil gently for 4 minutes.

Add the fish and bring to a boil, then cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 1 minute. Set the fish aside, covered, in the broth for 5 minutes to rest and finish cooking before serving.

To serve, carefully remove the fillets from the broth with a slotted spoon and transfer to four individual plates. (Serve the fillets with or without the skin, as desired.)

Add the pepper to the broth, and bring to a boil. Spoon the broth and vegetables over the fish and serve.

Copyright © 2011 by Jacques Pépin. Used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.

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