So the epic fish saga continued; I originally intended to grind up the rest and make fish ball soup, because it’s still dead cold out and a tangy, spicy soup seemed like a good plan. Also, it would have afforded me the opportunity to write “fish balls” numerous times in the post. But as is so often the case, I changed my mind come prep time, after a pretty painless sojourn to the store for the first wave of stocking up the week’s vittles. Actually, it was the second wave, since I went to the butcher’s yesterday. And so you’re just going to have to suffer through a post in which I only mention fish balls about a third as many times as I would have if I had actually made fish balls.
The remaining varieties included pollock, cod, and turbot, and since we had turbot the other night I put that back in the fridge and cut the other two into regular-ish squares, then dredged them in seasoned flour. We had just enough oil to get about 3/4 inch deep in our smallest pan- I forgot to buy more- but the pieces were small enough that with one flip they’d cook just fine. The lack of oil did pose a problem for the tartar sauce I wanted, since I normally like to make mayonnaise with a neutral oil. But I used olive oil, with dribbles of both sesame and truffle, plus a little mustard, garlic scape pesto, yuzu juice, and a little liquid from a jar of cornichons, then folded in some minced cornichons. We had just run out of capers this morning as I used them up on a bagel with cream cheese and homemade fennely-spicy gravlax. It was worth it.
I used the mandoline to bang out some Japanese yam fries, and baked them with generous olive oil- shaking frequently- until they were nice and brown. Before dark, I ventured out into the frigid twilight and grabbed numbly at a variety of greens in the garden- kale, chard, mustard, and collards. They got a spin in the processor with garlic and just enough oil to make a thick pesto. I gave all the fish pieces another dredge in the flour mixture and fried them in batches until all were brown and beautiful. And that was dinnner; it’s funny- after all that, in the picture they do kind of look a little like fish balls. Milo invented mixing green mash and tartar sauce together to make an even better sauce for yam and fish alike.
And now you stole my fries idea. Except it’s yams, and, surprise surprise, Japanese 😉 I hate emoticons. Time to kick my own ass.
That green mash is beautiful. And my captcha was Fahirel, which I’m pretty sure would be my name if I were an Elf like Liv Tyler.
Your child’s brilliant food creations never cease to amaze…
I wish I’d eaten at your house today. Even if I would have froze my balls off.
How long are you keeping your garden going – do you have a hoophouse? I know you mentioned the artichokes.
We still have greens in the market – I guess the frost hasn’t eaten everything yet.
Japanese yam fries is such an awesome idea! I love anything in the sweet potato family (though I do now that they are different!)
I’ve had a hanker for some good fish and chips lately. I’ve only used kotubuki in nabe. Those Dioscorea are all good fried, though.
We haven’t had frost yet – yay, global warming! My chard, kale and collards are the only things still kickin’ though. Thanksgiving gratin?
Kristie: I knew the second I typed the capital J that you’d have something to say about it.
My wife used to work Liv Tyler out back in NYC. I offered to do it, but was denied.
Brittany: Your FISH balls, you mean.
Jen: I’ve got hoops over five beds right now. Last winter I kept 4 beds going in some kind of style into the spring.
Maris: Welcome. Yep, these were nutty and delicious. I was intending sweet potato, but we had these.
Blanche: Those three are indestructable. We’ve also got beets, radishes, leeks, celery root, pan di zucchero, and a bunch of salady things going too.
Love this plate of food. Makes fried food fun and interesting.