Rick Stein’s Braised Fillet of Haddock With Chestnut Mushrooms and Chestnuts
This tender haddock fillet is cooked in a buttery sauce with mushrooms and chestnuts. It comes together in one pan, making it an easy main dish.
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Introduction
You might well think that the pairing of white fish, such as cod or haddock, with chestnuts, chestnut mushrooms, cheese and chicken stock is unusual because generally I like to cook fish simply to allow the delicacy of its flavour to shine. I find, though, that white fish can also work as a main ingredient in a braise like this. I’ve written a lot of recipes in this style, partly because they work very well with light red wines like young Pinot Noir, Sangiovese or Beaujolais. This recipe was originally published in Secret France using brill, but haddock is easier to obtain.
Ingredients
| 600ml | chicken stock |
| 100g | unsalted butter |
| 3 | shallots, finely sliced |
| 75ml | dry white vermouth |
| 100g | vacuum-packed chestnuts, sliced |
| 100g | chestnut mushrooms, sliced |
| 2 tsp | lemon juice |
| 4 x 150–175g | haddock fillets, skin on (snapper or blue-eye trevalla are good alternatives) |
| 20g | Pecorino Sardo cheese, finely grated |
| Small handful of | flatleaf parsley, chopped |
| Salt and black pepper |
Method
Pour the chicken stock into a wide pan and boil rapidly until it is reduced by half.
Melt half the butter in a pan that has a lid and is large enough to hold the fish fillets in one layer. Add the shallots and cook gently for 4–5 minutes. Add the vermouth, chestnuts and reduced chicken stock, then simmer for another 4–5 minutes until thickened. Add the mushrooms and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.
Place the fish fillets on top of the mushrooms, cover the pan with a lid and place over a medium heat for 6 minutes until the fish is cooked through. Carefully remove the fish and keep it warm.
Add the remaining butter and the cheese to the pan and boil rapidly for a few minutes until the sauce coats the back of a spoon nicely. Stir in three-quarters of the parsley. Put the fish back in the pan and garnish with the rest of the parsley, then serve with buttery mashed potato and wilted spinach.
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