CTV Recipes
Search Recipes
Plum glazed pickerel over wild rice wrapped in collard greens
This dish is a celebration of those communities that are pescatarian, influenced and inspired in using local food while thinking of somewhere warm, where perhaps you might have used banana leaf to wrap a grouper or a snapper. This is where LOCAL meets DIVERSE.
Ingredients
Plum sauce;
- 2 pounds plums, pitted and chopped
- 1/2 cup diced yam or sweet potato or butternut squash (i.e., orange flesh)
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup soy sauce or tamari
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 2-3 inch piece of cinnamon stick
- 2 whole star anise
- 4 whole cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns (NOT the same thing as black pepper)
- 1/4 teaspoon whole fennel seeds or 1 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder
Wild rice:
- 2 cup wild rice
- 8 cups water, stock, or a mix of both
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 cup wild rice
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 medium shallot finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 6 to 8 sprigs of fresh thyme finely chopped
- 4 to 6 sprigs of fresh parsley
- 2 cloves of garlic finely minced
Pickerel:
- Pickerel 4 pounds (whole fish deboned and butterflied)
- 2 bunches collard greens (separate leaves from stems)
- Plum sauce 1/2 cup (recipe above)
- 1 tablespoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon of grounded juniper berries
- 1 teaspoon of grounded coriander
- 1 teaspoon of grounded black peppercorn
- 1/2 tablespoon of grape seed oil (sunflower oil as a substitute)
Collard greens:
- 2 bunches of collards (stems separate from leaves)
- 1 knob of ginger finely minced
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 2 cloves of garlic finely minced
- 2 bird eye chillies finely minced
- 1/2 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 lime juiced
- 1/2 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
Directions
Plum sauce:
- Place all the ingredients except for the spice mixture in a medium-sized pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Use an immersion blender or transfer to a blender to puree until smooth (then return to pot).
- Place the whole spices (skip if using store-bought five spice powder) in a small dry pan and toast over medium-high heat just until fragrant. Be careful not to scorch the spices or they will taste bitter. Let the spices cool and then place the whole spices in a piece of cheesecloth tied shut with string. Do the same if using store-bought ground five spice powder.
- Place the spice packet in the pot with the plum sauce and continue to simmer uncovered for 25-45 minutes until the sauce is thickened to the desired consistency. Discard the spice packet. Let the sauce cool.
- Taste taste taste.
- Store in the fridge in an airtight non-reactive container.
Wild rice:
- Rinse the wild rice and place the wild rice in a fine-mesh strainer and rinse in the sink under cold running water. Shake to drain.
- Bring the rice and water to a boil.
- Place the rice in the saucepan and add four cups of water or stock, along with the salt (unless the stock is already salted). Bring to a boil over high heat.
- Reduce to a simmer: When the water has reached a boil, lower the heat to maintain a slow but steady simmer and cover the pan.
- Cook at a simmer for 45 minutes. Check the rice. It should be chewy and some of the grains will have burst open. It may need an additional 10 to 15 minutes — keep checking the rice and stop cooking when the grains are tender.
- Drain the wild rice: When the rice is done, pour it into a strainer to drain off any remaining liquid. Finely add all remaining ingredients, taste for seasonings and then refrigerate.
Pickerel:
- Rub all dried ingredients with the oil in the belly of the fish, glaze the plum sauce on the skin and refrigerate.
- Bring the fish at room temperature half an hour prior of baking it.
Collard greens:
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil with salt. Once the water reaches the boiling point add the collard stems and cook for two minutes. Meantime add all ingredients (except sesame seeds) in a large bowl and mix well (taste for seasonings). Strain the collards and toss in the sauce.
- Garnish with the toasted sesame seeds.
Assembly:
- In a large pan brush some oil and layer the collard leaves. Centre the rice in the leaves and rest the butterflied fish. Fold the leaves to cover the fish, drizzle additional oil and sprinkle with some salt.
- Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.
- Enjoy!
