Name: Red Mullet à l’Orientale
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 18 min
Total time: 5 h 15 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 4 small whole red mullet, about 5 oz / 140 g each and 20 oz / 560 g total, scaled, gutted, and gills removed; 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) olive oil, for the pan; 2 medium ripe tomatoes, yielding about 1 cup (240 ml / 200 g), peeled, seeded, and prepared as a concass; 1 small parsley root, yielding about 1/2 cup (120 ml / 60 g), peeled and thinly sliced; 1/2 small fennel bulb, yielding about 3/4 cup (180 ml / 75 g), thinly sliced; 2 fresh thyme sprigs; 1 bay leaf; 1 small garlic clove, about 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 3 g), thinly sliced; 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 2.5 g) whole black peppercorns; 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml / 1 g) coriander seeds, lightly crushed; 1/2 teaspoon, loosely packed (2.5 ml / 0.2 g), saffron threads; 1 bottle dry white wine, about 3 1/8 cups (750 ml / 745 g), enough to cover the fish in a snug pan; 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 6 g) fine sea salt; 1 unwaxed lemon, peel and white pith removed, thinly sliced

Question 1

How long do I poach whole red mullet?

Accepted Answer

Poach small whole red mullet at a bare tremble for 12 minutes when each fish weighs about 5 ounces or 140 grams; allow up to 18 minutes for larger fish. The flesh beside the backbone must be opaque and register 145°F or 63°C on an instant-read thermometer. Avoid a rolling boil.

Question 2

What should I do if the wine starts boiling while I poach the red mullet?

Accepted Answer

Lift the poaching pan off the burner immediately, remove the parchment cartouche, and let the wine settle for one minute. Return the pan to the lowest heat and maintain only a bare tremble. One brief boil will not ruin whole red mullet, but repeated boiling tightens the delicate flesh.

Question 3

What kind of pan do I need for Rougets à l’Orientale?

Accepted Answer

Use a snug 12- to 13-inch shallow sauté pan or oval fish pan that holds four whole red mullet in one layer. The wine must just cover the fish. If it does not, transfer everything to a smaller pan instead of adding water, which would dilute the saffron-scented cuisson.

Question 4

Can I substitute turmeric for saffron in Rougets à l’Orientale?

Accepted Answer

Do not replace saffron with turmeric in Rougets à l’Orientale. Turmeric supplies golden color but lacks saffron’s floral, faintly bitter perfume, which defines this cold red mullet dish. Use fragrant saffron threads and rub them lightly between your fingertips directly over the pan so their aroma opens through the white wine.

Question 5

Why do you cool red mullet in the poaching liquor?

Accepted Answer

Cooling whole red mullet in the saffron-wine cuisson seasons the flesh throughout and keeps it succulent. Rest the fish in the liquor for 15 minutes, cool the pan promptly in an ice-water bath, then refrigerate the submerged fish for at least 4 hours. Keep bath water out of the poaching pan.

Question 6

Can I make Rougets à l’Orientale ahead of time?

Accepted Answer

Prepare Rougets à l’Orientale one day ahead and refrigerate the whole red mullet fully covered by their cuisson. An 8- to 24-hour rest develops the saffron and aromatic flavors. Keep the fish at or below 40°F or 4°C, serve within 2 days, and slice the peeled lemon shortly before serving.

Ingredient	Quantity
small whole red mulletscaled, gutted, and gills removed	4 fish, about 5 oz / 140 g each and 20 oz / 560 g total
olive oilfor the pan	1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g)
ripe tomatoespeeled, seeded, and prepared as a concass	2 medium, yielding about 1 cup (240 ml / 200 g)

Culinary Explorer

Red Mullet à l’Orientale

Ingredients

small whole red mullet

olive oil

ripe tomatoes

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