I have been inspired by a great book I picked up the other day by Hilary McNevin, titled The Guide to Fish. As I become increasingly concerned about the sustainability of where my food comes from, this offers an easy reference to teach Australian readers about the various species of sustainable fish, and recipes to use with them. Too easy!
So I decided to tackle a few different things I had not done before. I had not cooked a whole King George Whiting before, having only used the fillets. And I had never eaten (or made) a sauce gribiche.
Now the sauce gribiche appears to be a somewhat misunderstood sauce. Some liken it to a creamy mayonnaise, while others liken it to a vinaigrette. The recipe in Hilary’s book is the latter, which is also supported by the good ol’ Larousse Gastronomique. But I must confess that the sauce recipe in Hilary’s book will probably make enough vinaigrette for 8 or 10 fish, so I’d recommend most certainly cutting it down, or alternatively serving it with its more traditional partner for dinner the next night, a calf’s head!
Ingredients
2 whole King Geroge Whiting
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Sauce gribiche
3 eggs
1 tbs Dijon Mustard
1 cup Olive Oil
80ml Red Wine Vinegar
Cornichons to taste (start with 6 and add from there)
2 tbs Flat Leaf Parsley, roughly chopped
Salt and Pepper
Method
Heat oven to 180 degrees C. Place a piece of foil, big enough to wrap around one whole whiting, on the kitchen bench and on top of this put a piece of baking paper. Place the fish on the top of this, pour over olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Put in the oven and check after 20 minutes. Take out of the oven, open the foil and baking paper and cook a further 10 minutes to crisp up the skin a little.
For the sauce gribiche – hard boil the eggs then run them under cold water and shell. Seperate the yolks from the whites. Mash the egg yolk into a paste, add the mustard and, in a steady stream, pour in the olive oil as you would if making a mayonnaise, then add the vinegar. (Mellie’s note: don’t expect it to be creamy like a mayonnaise though! This is a vinaigrette remember).
Finely chop the egg whites and cornichons, add to the sauce and season with salt and pepper. Finish by stirring through the chopped parsley. Pour over the fish and serve.
Voila! This was such a beautiful dish. The whiting was so so sweet, and the eggy vinaigrette was the perfect compliment. Serve with a subtly oaked Chardonnay. Bon appetit!
I think Gribiche is coming back, I’ve seen it on a few menus recently! Looks great.
JB just blogged Gribiche in Adelaide. So perhaps it is!
Mellie,
You know I prefer a good steak. But that Whiting looks so inviting I am almost driven to go down to the Aire and catch one.
I cast an eye over the recipe again and I like the flavours in the vinaigrette.
I love your adventures.
Oh, *SWOON*!! Looks lovely Mellie.
I know a retired professional fisherman down Westernport way. He says that no one knows how or when King George whiting breed. In his whole life, he’s only ever seen one fish with milt, none with eggs. Makes you wonder, but breed they do.
You’re one step ahead of me, despite catching them regularly all my life, I’ve never cooked a whole one. That might be about to change…
Umm.. well, Neil, King George Whiting spawn in autumn out to sea, the currents bring the tiny sprat into sheltered areas, like mangroves and sea grass beds.
So I can see how a fisherman who knows the fish only by what he catches might grow old thinking no-one knew how they breed, but we scientists do actually.
Keep our mangroves and sea grass beds healthy so we get more baby whiting!
Thanks essjayeff, I’m a little wiser now, do you know where the spawning grounds are? Out to sea is a pretty big place!
Don’t get me started on protecting estuarine systems, what’s happened to Westernport is a scandal, the seagrass long gone.
This is one good lookin whiting huh. I seemed to have difficulty in deciding what to do with fish so thanks for this!
Mellie, looks great again, the photos you and Dan take are always top notch. That recipe also looks terrific. It is 11.40pm and I have had a large dinner… why am I suddenly hungry for King George Whiting?
Hey Matt C – well as they say, what’s old is new again
Actually, I must confess it was kind of nice to delve into the Larousse. I really must sit down and give it some more time.
Hi essjayeff – ahh, so he did! Although his gribiche looks more like a paste than a vinaigrette?!?
Hey there Paulie – well, can I put in an order for some King George on your next fishing trip down to Aire? And loved that you posted on the blog
Hi Claire – it is a wonderful recipe, and I must give all my thanks to Hilary McNevin for introducing me to it! Look forward to trying out a few more recipes now too!
Hey Neil – well, you must definitely try cooking them whole. They can be a little bit bony if you don’t prize the flesh off the right way, but practice makes perfect! And an interesting tale from your fisherman!
Hi again essjayeff – ever informative! You are now officially the tummyrumbles resident Marine Biologist
I guess there are many tales such as this, as the big blue is still so unexplored and filled with many wonders. I think the spawning habits of eels is most fascinating of all! (but is it true?!?)
Hiya Adrian – you should definitely pick up Hilary’s book then. Each section/species informs how best to cook the fish, what it pairs well with, and then suggests a couple of recipes. It’s also very easy to read, and has a great “traffic light” system which tells you which are the best species to choose.
Hey Ken – oops, sorry for making you hungry at midnight! Perhaps some King George is on the menu this week?
Hey Neil, generally just off the continental shelf. I’m more familiar with South Australia, where if you imagine drawing a line along the bottom of the gulfs, that’s where they spawn. Basically not open ocean, but somewhere that the prevailing currents will head the spawn in towards the protected shores. It’s quite a common way for marine creatures to reproduce.
Mellie, happy to oblige! but I did specialise in invertebrates – whiting being a special case, as it and tuna sashimi are pretty much the only fish I eat!
Oh yeh – and eels / elvers, yes that’s true. Mother nature is very strange indeed.
This looks amazing. I don’t like fish that much but this one is making me hungry.
Baked whole fish I have done, but not with King george. The sauce sounds really good!
I wonder does this sauce work for any other kind of fish? And if so, what other fish do you recommend?
Hey esjayeff – mmm, eels. I have a fabulous recipe for a smoked eel omelette I must post here. Such good eating.
Hi Megan – Despite the bones, King George is a really pleasant, sweet eating fish (ie. it’s not too fishy), so is a good one to eat if you are not piscatorially inclined.
Hi Anh – give this one a go! One thing I was surprised was the length of baking time for such a small fish. But I trusted in the recipe, and I wasn’t disappointed. It was so moist and juicy.
Hi Megan – IMHO, I think this recipe would work well with most white flesh fish. It’s also nice with new potatoes or asparagus, or, as mentioned above, a calves head
Both the Larousse Gastronomique version and the one pictured is the way I learn’t Gribiche from the European masters over 30 years ago. And yes like fashion Gribiche & flares come and go!
Hey Rhumbaba – welcome to tummyrumbles! Phew. I really wasn’t sure if I’d done it right, but consensus is a good thing!
Gorgeous photo’s!!
Much to the husbands disappointment, I’m not a big fish eater, but perhaps it’s time to get brave?!!
It is certainly time to get brave Amanda! I must confess eating whole King George can be a little daunting for a non-fish eater because of the little bones. But the flavour is beautiful and sweet.
Perhaps you could give a baby snapper a go? Yes, still has bones, but they are a little easier to detect.
I can’t agree more, the sweetness of the flesh of whiting makes the whole effort to pick out the bones when eating this fish worthed. I like the best best my a recipe I stole from my dad – with turmeric and coriander – touch of spices even draw out more sweetness – here is the link http://lespicekitchen.wordpress.com/2010/03/09/my-dads-famous-turmeric-fish-fry/
Hi there Aliza – yes, those little bones can be quite pesky, but oooh, the whiting itself is just to sweet to resist! That looks like a great recipe. Reminds me of some of the fish I ate in Singapore. Yum!