Stuffed Flounder
Ingredients
Shopping list
- 4 large filets of winter flounder
- 2 sea scallops
- 1 egg
- 2 Meyer lemons
- 1 head of garlic
- 1 leek
- 5 shallots
- 1 cup of dried white beans (soaked overnight) or 1 can Great Northern Beans
- Fish or vegetable stock (recipe included for fumet, if you want to make your own fish stock)
- 1 white onion
- 1 bunch of chives
- 1 bunch of dill
- 1 bunch thyme
- 1 bunch parsley
- 3 stalks of celery
- 4 bay leaves
- 1 bunch of stinging nettles, blanched and shocked*
- A bright white wine
- Butter
- Olive oil
- Assorted mushrooms or blonde morels
PREPARE THE FISH
- 1 egg white
- 1 flounder filet
- 2 scallops
- 2 teaspoons chopped chives
- 1 teaspoon chopped dill
- 1 pinch of salt and pepper
- Zest of 1 Meyer lemon
Instructions
- April is a month of expectation on Cape Cod. It is marked by warmer, brighter days, the anticipation of a busy summer season, and the landscape starting to come alive. Gardens are getting planted and everyone is dusting off the winter. April signals the arrival of songbirds, alewife, right whales, ospreys and spring peepers. It also offers winter flounder fishing as a panacea to the recreational striped bass fishermen as they wait.
- For my garden, it means the garlic I planted in the fall is standing tall in the beds of straw mulch, and the Egyptian walking onions are sprouting. Stinging nettles are emerging and I'm starting to be on the lookout for mushrooms. I am sowing peas, radishes, tender greens, onions and potatoes.
- On Cape Cod, we have to wait a little longer for local spring onions, asparagus, rhubarb, soft neck garlic, and spring peas; but that is what makes our food landscape so beautiful. Every month on Cape Cod feels distinctively different. For us at the farm, this is what April feels like.
- Blend until smooth.
- Lay out the 3 remaining filets and spread the mousse evenly over them, and roll them up into a roulade.
- Gently steam for 3-4 minutes to set the mousse. Reserve the roulades on the side.
Notes
*A note on handling stinging nettles: when you are picking nettles, wear long sleeves and a good pair of gardening gloves, clip the top 4-6 inches, keeping the plant intact so you can harvest again. Drop them into a paper bag or bucket. When I get the nettles to the kitchen, I wear a couple pairs of disposable gloves. Give them a rinse and then pluck the leaves from the stems. Blanch them in boiling water for 90 seconds and then shock them in ice water. This destroys the trichomes that irritate your skin, while preserving the gorgeous emerald green color. You can let the blanching liquid cool and then water your plants with it for a nutrient-rich taste of spring.
