Day fifty seven

Today's plate

Why some cooking techniques are called a la minute?

Today was about sautéing fish. This was our menue: Saute trout Meuniere, Wild rice pilaf, Brussels sprout with bacon, tourneyed carrot, and  sauce Beurre Noisette.

Sautéing usually refers as a la minute technique, because it literally takes a few minutes to cook main item. Let's say today trout was pan fried within four minutes (ish...) Do I like it? Yes, very much, that was my lunch for today. The issue you may have making this at home is a bit of smoke (if you have hood in the kitchen - great) and a bit of oil on the stove around a pan.

So, let's start from the middle (as per picture from the left).
Wild rice pilaf. Method is exactly the same as for white rice. You need to change ratio rice:liquid and increase water (1:5). In case these is water left when rice is ready it's easy to drain it. Another adjustment is to cook it the stove top, because in the oven heat will not be sufficient to cook wild rice. Cooking time is long. I cooked mine rice today for an hour and 10 minutes and it was slightly under. With wild rice you do not want it undercooked and under seasoned, because the taste will be unpleasant.

Sautéed Trout à la Meunière 
Makes 10 servings 
Ten 9 to 10-oz/255 to 284-g pan-dressed trout 
2 tsp/6.50 g salt 
1 tsp/2 g ground black pepper 
2 oz/57 g all-purpose flour 
2 fl oz/60 mL clarified butter or oil 
10 oz/284 g whole butter 
2 fl oz/60 mL lemon juice 
3 tbsp/9 g chopped parsley 
Method:
Blot the trout dry and season with salt and pepper. Dredge in flour. 
Heat the clarified butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Working in batches, sauté the trout until lightly browned and cooked through, 2 to 4 minutes per side. Remove the trout from the pan and keep warm while completing the sauce. 
Degrease the pan and add the whole butter. Cook the butter over medium-high heat until lightly browned with a nutty aroma, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the lemon juice to the pan and swirl to deglaze it. Add the parsley and pour or spoon the sauce over the trout. Serve immediately

Brussel Sprouts Cooked with Bacon

Yield: 6 portions

2   oz Bacon, batonettes                                     

1 Tbsp Olive oil                                                       

1 lb Brussels sprouts, cut in quarters                   

3 oz Yellow onions, diced                                

1 Tbsp Garlic, minced                                      

1/2 tsp Salt                                                        

to taste Black pepper, freshly ground               

to taste Lemon juice                                         

Method

Cook Brussels Sprouts in boiling water until almost done (stil a bit crunchy). Shock them in ice water.

Heat a sauté pan and add the oil and bacon; cook until the fat renders and the bacon is crispy.

Add the onions and cook until translucent. Add the garlic and cook until aromatic.

Increase the heat; add the Brussels sprouts and sauté until tender. 

Adjust seasoning with salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Serve while the color is still vivid.