Arctic Char with Spinach Butter

Name: Arctic Char with Spinach Butter
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: irish
Ingredients: 10 ounces baby spinach; 1 Arctic char, about 2 pounds, cleaned and left whole; Salt and pepper; 1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon, plus a few sprigs for inside the fish; 2 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature, plus 6 chilled tablespoons for sauce; 1/2 cup crème fraîche; 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest; 1 teaspoon finely sliced chives; 1 pound boiled new potatoes, for serving (optional)

Recipe from Darina Allen

Adapted by David Tanis

Arctic Char with Spinach Butter — Karsten Moran for The New York Times

Total Time: 50 minutes
Rating: 4(268)
Comments: Read comments

Darina Allen, known as the Julia Child of Ireland, has run the Ballymaloe Cooking School on an organic farm in east Cork for more than 30 years. Here’s a lovely dish from her repertoire, a whole fish wrapped in a foil package, seasoned with nothing more than salt, pepper, butter and a sprig of tarragon. The fish emerges moist and juicy, ready for a creamy butter sauce packed with chopped spinach and herbs. Ms. Allen makes it with pink trout, which are plentiful in Ireland, but this recipe calls for Arctic char, which is more widely available in the United States. But you could substitute pink trout (also called coho trout) if you can find it, or large wild trout, or even thick fillets of steelhead trout or salmon. —David Tanis

Featured in: The Glory of Irish Food, Captured in a Whole Fish

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

10ounces baby spinach
1Arctic char, about 2 pounds, cleaned and left whole
Salt and pepper
1teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon, plus a few sprigs for inside the fish
2tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature, plus 6 chilled tablespoons for sauce
½cup crème fraîche
½teaspoon grated lemon zest
1teaspoon finely sliced chives
1pound boiled new potatoes, for serving (optional)

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Put spinach in a mixing bowl and pour boiling water over to wilt it. Drain in a colander, rinse with cool water and squeeze completely dry. Chop the spinach as finely as you can and set aside.
Step 2
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Rinse fish and pat dry. Season fish inside and out with salt and pepper. Put a few tarragon springs in the belly cavity.
Step 3
Line a roasting pan with a big piece of foil slightly longer than the fish, leaving ends hanging over. Smear middle section of foil lengthwise with 1 tablespoon soft butter and set fish on top. Smear top of fish with remaining tablespoon soft butter. Fold the sides of foil to the center and press against fish. Twist both ends of foil to make a tight package. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove pan from oven and let fish rest 5 to 10 minutes, still in the foil package, while you make the sauce.
Step 4
Put crème fraîche in a wide saucepan or skillet over medium high heat and bring to a simmer. Cook for a minute or so, until slightly reduced. Add cooked spinach, stirring to coat. Season with salt and pepper and turn heat to low. Quickly stir in 1 tablespoon chilled butter at a time. Each spoonful should be just melted before adding the next, to make a creamy sauce. Remove from heat. Stir in lemon zest, tarragon and chives.
Step 5
Transfer fish to a warm serving platter. Carefully remove foil. (Fish should be cooked through but moist.) Peel away and discard skin from top of fish. Pour any collected pan juices into the sauce, then spoon sauce over fish. Serve with boiled new potatoes if desired.

Ratings

4 out of 5

268 user ratings

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Comments

CG5 years ago

I used olive oil on the fish and half the butter in the sauce. Substituted Greek yogurt for crème fraîche. It was awesomely delicious!!!

Sharon7 years ago

This is definitely a company meal, gorgeous and so silky, tastes richer (fattier) than it really is. Simple enough for a week night.

Kevin Osinski7 years ago

Made this with a 1.5 lb steelhead fillet, which I cooked sous-vide with the tarragon sprigs at 126F for 45 minutes. The sauce was an excellent complement. I only used about half the butter, which made it more chunky but still rich and flavorful. I also substituted a small minced leek for the chives, which I simmered with the crème fraîche at the beginning. Quite happy with the results.

Noelle2 months ago

This was very low effort but astonishingly good. I used fillets rather than a whole fish, and dried vs fresh tarragon but otherwise cooked per recipe. Simple and very delicious.

Southofboston1 year ago

This is a glorious recipe. I often use it with steelhead trout as arctic char is difficult to locate. Celebrating the last of our tarragon tonight and feeling no guilt. This is an easy peasy delicious recipe as written. On our, yes please, list.

Christin1 year ago

Tasty! Pan-seared some coho, and was a little shy on spinach, so added sauteed mushrooms and shallots to the spinach butter sauce. Would be good on other fish or chicken.

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