Behind the French Menu: anchovies

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Sandre - Zander in the USA and Pike Perch in the UK. Sandre in French Cuisine.

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

Zander

Sandre, Perche-brochet or Doré Noir – Zander in the USA and Pike-perch in the UK. (For this post, I will use the name Zander as this fish is rarely on UK restaurant menus). Zander is a freshwater fish that is sometimes mistaken for Pike. Despite the occasional case of mistaken identity Zander is very much a part of the perch fish family and has a different taste and texture to Pike. N.B. Pike, the fish, is called Brochet in French.

Zander has light, firm, but tender meat with few bones and a delicate taste. In France and much of Western and Europe, Zander will be on fish restaurant menus. This is the time to try this tasty fish that may not be on many menus at home. Zander is found in nearly all the rivers and lakes in France and is much sought after by anglers. Wild fish may be caught weighing over six kgs (13.2 lbs) or more with a few reaching three times that weight. On French menus, the chef will note if the fish was caught in the wild, otherwise, they will have come from freshwater fish farms. Zander from farms will weigh from 700 grams (1.5 lbs) to 3 kilos (6.6 lbs).

This is an over 10 kilo (22lb) Zander caught in a lake.

The fish was returned to be caught again another day,

Photograph courtesy of helti

Zander will be served grilled, fried or baked, and since even farmed fish are also quite large they are all served as filets. Zander will also be part of many freshwater fish soups and stews. In France Zander also find their way into quenelles, fish patties made with 50% fish and 50% bread and breadcrumbs.

Zander on French menus:

Dos de Sandre Au Beurre Blanc Nantais - A thick cut of Zander served with a Beurre Blanc Nantaise Sauce.

Pavé de Sandre du Lac aux Asperges

A thick cut of zander from the lake served with asparagus.

Photograph courtesy of Daniel Ebneter

Filet de Sandre aux Salicornes, Beurre Blanc – A filet of zander prepared with young salicornia and served with a Beurre Blanc Sauce. Salicornia or samphire, also called in French Perce-pierre or Criste-marine and often mistakenly described as an edible seaweed. Salicornia grows in salt marshes and along the coast, not in the sea. Only young salicornia plants are used, and they are gathered from April through July; they will be used in salads, sauces, soups, and they may also be pickled and used as a condiment. Their shape gives them another name, the asparagus of the sea. However, that description refers to their look, not their taste.

Salicornia

Photograph courtesy of KH Kwon

Sandre Sauvage, Noix de Saint Jacques et Gambas - Wild Zander, not from a fish farm, the word sauvage means wild. Here, the fish is served together with the meat of the King Scallop and large shrimps. Wild fish are considered tastier as zander, like many other fish, are what they eat. I have enjoyed the Zander that comes from fish farms; nevertheless, wild Zander has a stronger taste and a different texture.

Zander, Cauliflower, Anchovies and Capers.

Sandre, Chou-fleur, Anchois, Capres

Photograph courtesy of Inspirational Food

Filet De Sandre, Sauce Matelote, Nouillettes À l'Alsacienne - A filet of zander served with a Matelote Sauce and Alsatian type noodles. Alsatian noodles are, in the Alsace, called Spâtzlé or Spaetzlé and look something like overweight bumpy noodles; they will be served as a garnish instead of potatoes, pasta or rice. Sauce Matelote includes red wine, butter, flour, shallots, black pepper, fish stock and often button mushrooms. N.B. On a menu with an English translation there is sometimes confusion with a freshwater fish stew called a Matelote and Sauce Matelote. Read the menu carefully!

Alsatian Spâtzlé

Photograph courtesy of Stefania Ricci Frabattista

FiIlet De Sandre Poêlé, Beurre Rouge, Nouilles Fines – Filet of Zander lightly fried and served with a Beurre Rouge Sauce, and served with thin egg noodles. (Buerre Rouge Sauce is a thick sauce made with butter, red wine and shallots).

Zander with tomatoes and button mushrooms.

Photograph courtesy of Seph Swain

Quenelles de Sandre et Médaillons de Homard Européen, Sauce Homardine – Quennels of Zander served with oval or round cuts of the European two-clawed lobster all served with a Homardine Sauce. Quenelles are dumplings made with the fish, breadcrumbs and egg used for binding and Sauce Homardin translates as a lobster sauce. The chef will use lobster leftovers including the shell; however, for the color, many chefs also add a Béchamel Sauce flavoured with shellfish, shellfish shells and tomatoes.
Quenelles were originally created for Pike; some may be large and considered a main course while others may be smaller and served as side dish.

Quenelles

Photograph courtesy of stu_spivack

Zander (Pike –Perch) were brought into the UK as another fish for amateur fishermen and women in the early 20th century. Despite that, in the UK they are now considered a threat to native species as they swim everywhere and eat everything.

This Great Crested Grebe also likes Zander.

Photograph courtesy of Don Sutherland

Sandre – Zander in the language of France’s neighbors:

(Catalan – lucioperca), (Dutch – snoekbaars), (German –zander), (Italian- sandra, lucioperca), (Spanish - lucioperca).

Connected Posts:

Anchovies on the Menu in France. Visiting the Fishing Village of Collioure. Enjoying Anchoyade and Tapenade, France’s Great Anchovy Spreads.

Asperges en La Cuisine Française – Asparagus in French cuisine. The Artists who painted Asparagus or Lived Near Argenteuil.

Butter in France. French Butter in French Cuisine.

Échalotes - Shallots. One of the Most Important Herbs in the French Kitchen

Flour. The flour in your French bread, crepes, and other delights.

France's Butter Sauces I. The Three Most Popular Butter Sauces on French Menus.

Homard - Lobster on French Menus. The Two-Clawed European Lobster; also Called, in France, the Homard Bleu and Homard Breton.

Pike, the Fish. Brochet on French Menus.

Poivre - Peppercorns. Peppercorns in French cuisine and on French Menus. For hundred of years pepper was the most important spice in the world.

Sauce Béchamel, Sauce Bechamel. One of the Five Mother sauces in French Cuisine.

Shrimps and Prawns, Crevettes, Among the Many Tasty Crustaceans on Your French Menu.

The Button Mushroom. Mushrooms in France I. The Champignon de Paris

The King Scallop and the Queen Scallop. On French Menus the Saint-Jacque, the Coquilles Saint-Jacques and the Vanneaux or Pétoncle.

Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

Salade Niçoise - Salad Nicoise. The Most Famous of all French Salads is Named after the City of Nice, on the Cote d’Azur, Provence, France.

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

Salade Niçoise

This recipes permits both tuna and anchovies.

Photograph by courtesy of Epicurious

The Classic Salade Niçoise

The classic Salad Niçoise was an hors d’œuvre, an appetizer served before the first course, the French entrée. The tradition of serving Salad Niçoise as an hors d’œuvre is now more honored in the breach than in the observance. Today, a Salade Niçoise will likely be a French entrée or the main dish when it its part of a light lunch.

Ordering Salade Niçoise

With few exceptions, most chefs from Nice agree that the recipe will include canned tuna or anchovies, but not both. Then are added tomatoes, the black Niçoise AOC olives, fava beans, cooked baby artichokes, sweet peppers, herbs, especially basil, and a vinaigrette dressing with the oil from Nice’s own AOP olive oil the, Huile d'Olive de Nice and red wine vinegar.

Among the variations that are accepted but considered later additions are boiled potatoes, boiled eggs, spring onions, and boiled or steamed haricots verts France’s favorite fresh bean that we call the green bean or snap bean.

Haricot vert, the essential green bean in a Salade Niçoise

Photograph courtesy of Olivier Bacquet.

www.flickr.com/photos/olibac/4021008699/

Lettuce is often seen in a Salades Nicoise today though it is generally agreed that it is a recent addition, and it is still rare for a chef with Nice's culinary history on his or her mind to include lettuce.

One word of advice, when in Nice do not discuss with the locals the exact recipe as even the local gourmands disagree. You might end up as I did with my head in my hands along with wine and opinions coming from all sides even though we had finished dinner three hours before.

Salade Niçoise first appeared on French menus in the latter part of the 19th century; less than 30 years after Nice lost its Italian rulers and became part of France. The name of the dish’s original creator is lost, probably during the Franco-Prussian war that ended in France becoming a Republic and Emperor Napoléon III being exiled to England where he later died and is buried.

The most authentic Salade Nicoise recipes that I have seen are the two reported by the famous cookbook author Elizabeth David (1913 – 1992). Her book French Provincial Cooking was published in 1960; however, I read the Penguin Books Edition published posthumously in 1999 with a forward by Julia Child.

The recipes Elizabeth David highlights are from Henri Heyraud and Escoffier.

Henri Heraud’s recipe was from his book La Cuisine a Nice, the cuisine of Nice. Henri Heyraud, was a chef, teacher and historian of the cuisine served in France in the early 20th century,

In the footsteps of Escoffier

Photograph courtesy of Edsel Little

www.flickr.com/photos/edsel_/5880234487/

Henri Heraud’s recipe for Salade Niçoise:

Canned tuna in oil, peeled tomatoes and diced anchovy fillets, all seasoned with tarragon, chervil, and chopped chives and prepared with or without mustard.

This recipe shows that the accepted tradition where you can use tuna or anchovies, but not both was not there in the early years. Heraud uses both tuna and anchovies, and the only vegetables are tomatoes. The recipe also offers no vinaigrette dressing and the oil used is that that comes from the canned tuna. That would be a very rare offering today, but Herault published his recipe in 1922.

Escoffier’s recipe for Salade Niçoise:

Young artichoke hearts, black nice olives, uncooked sweet peppers, tomatoes and anchovy fillets all served with a vinaigrette dressing made of olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, mustard and the most important of French herb groups Les Fine Herbes.

Canned anchovies.

Photograph courtesy of Anders Porter

www.flickr.com/photos/anderspee/6567158853/

Escoffier, a Provencal favorite son, surprisingly does not use the Provencal herb group the Herbs de Provence, instead, he chooses Les Fine Herbes. Escoffier. uses anchovy fillets, and no option of tuna is offered.

Nice and the Cote-d’Azur.

The Cote-d’Azur, the azure or blue coast was the name given to Nice and its coastal area in 1887 by the French writer and poet Stephen Liégeard (1830 -1925). At that time the South of France was being discovered by wealthy British tourists who came from the rainy UK to the unclouded blue sky of coastal Provence.

The Promenade des Anglais in Nice.

Photograph courtesy of Josh Graciano

www.flickr.com/photos/newmundane/5595810828/

Dining in Nice with its French, Provençal and Italian influences makes the visitor aware of the many other dishes that originated here including Ratatouille, Pissaladiere, and Socca

Ratatouille

Photograph courtesy of Tom Dixon

www.flickr.com/photos/twd3lr/7842204082/

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Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

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Connected Posts:

Anchois - Anchovies. Anchovies, Anchoyade and Tapenade in French Cuisine. Looking for Anchovies in the Fishing Village of Collioure.

Artichauts, an Artichoke in French. Artichokes on French Menus

Basil - Basilic or Herbe Royal. Basil in French Cuisine. The Italian Pesto is Pistou on French Menus.

Cerfeuil – Chervil, the Herb, in French Cuisine.

Ciboulette – Chives, the herb, in French Cuisine.

Dining in Nice on 'La Côte d'Azur'. The Cuisine of Nice, Cuisine Niçoise.

Escoffier the Chef. Escoffier, the Most Important Influence and Contributor to French Cuisine in the First Half of the 20th Century.

Estragon - Tarragon. Tarragon, the herb, in French Cuisine.

French Olives on French Menus.

Haricot, Feve or Coco - Beans. Beans in French Cuisine.

Herbes de Provence - The Herbs of Provence. Provencal Cuisine and the Herbes de Provence.