Seared Fish With Creamed Kale and Leeks
Published April 15, 2023
- Total Time
- 45 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 4(5- to 6-ounce) Arctic char or other mild fish fillets, such as salmon
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- 1½pounds curly kale
- 3tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1large leek (about ½ pound), trimmed, white and pale greens quartered lengthwise then thinly sliced
- 6large fresh thyme sprigs
- 3garlic cloves, minced
- 1cup heavy cream
- 1½teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1teaspoon chicken or vegetable stock concentrate, like Better Than Bouillion
- Cooked white rice or pearl couscous, warmed, for serving
- 2tablespoons olive oil
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
801 calories; 61 grams fat; 25 grams saturated fat; 1 gram trans fat; 19 grams monounsaturated fat; 9 grams polyunsaturated fat; 27 grams carbohydrates; 9 grams dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 41 grams protein; 1186 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Prepare your fish: Pat the fish dry, then salt the skin side to help draw out moisture. Set on a plate and refrigerate, uncovered.
- Step 2
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high. Prepare your kale: Pull the leaves off the stems and tear leaves into bite-size pieces. Wash vigorously, drain, then set aside.
- Step 3
In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium. Add the leek, thyme and garlic, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring frequently, until soft, about 7 minutes.
- Step 4
Stir in the cream and bring to a boil over high. Continue to cook on high until thickened, about 5 minutes. Using a fine-mesh sieve set over a liquid measuring cup or small bowl, strain the sauce, pressing to extract as much liquid as possible. (You should have about ½ cup sauce.) Set aside the solids and return the sauce to the saucepan. Whisk in the mustard and stock concentrate, and season with salt and pepper. Cover and set aside.
- Step 5
Discard the thyme sprigs and stir the cooked leek mixture into cooked rice, if desired. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Step 6
Once the sauce is done, blanch the kale in the boiling water until just wilted, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a colander to drain and rinse under cold water. Once cool enough to handle, squeeze out the excess liquid. Add to the strained cream, then season with salt and pepper. Cover, and warm over low, stirring occasionally.
- Step 7
Cook the fish: Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high. Pat the fish dry a second time, then season the skin with pepper, and the flesh with salt and pepper. Add to the hot oil, skin-side down, and cook until the skin is crispy and golden, about 3 to 4 minutes. Carefully flip the fish and cook until the outside starts to turn golden, but the thickest part of the fish is still slightly translucent, about 3 minutes.
- Step 8
Divide the rice (if using), creamed kale and fish among plates and serve immediately.
Private Notes
Comments
The flavors of this dish where very well paired. That leek cream sauce tied everything together. To cut down on dishes I started by blanching the kale in the same large skillet I made the sauce and seared the salmon. That creamed kale is going into the rotation.
Delicious and versatile, but overly complicated. Made twice now, with different greens each time. Blanching the kale and straining the leeks and thyme out of the cream are both unnecessary steps, just use remove the thyme leaves from stems, and toss the fresh greens directly into the hot cream and leek sauce to cook. Streamlining the recipe this way and cooking the protein simultaneously gets this on the table in 30 minutes.
This is a great recipe. Very tasty! I followed another reviewer's advice (thanks, Brenda!) and skipped the blanching of the kale and the straining of the sauce and just cooked my kale directly in the cream with all of the leek and garlic goodness still in. Used 1/2 tsp dried thyme because we were out of fresh. It turned out great and much less mess, clean-up, and effort. This will be in heavy rotation in our house!
This is my favorite recipe on NYT cooking. I’ve made it several times and even ask my partner to make it for me on my birthday. I make sure to mix the aromatics solids in with the rice and skip blanching to cook the greens down right in the sauce. The shatteringly crisp skin on the fish is the best part!
Used Spanish mackerel as that was the fish we had on hand; it partnered very well with the rice and kale. Roasted butternut pumpkin/squash as an accompaniment — EVOO, pepper and salt. Kiddo enjoyed this too. Will make again.
Both over-thought and under-thought. If you like the ingredients, make your own choices about proportions and timing.
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