Untested: Poached Fish Fillets with Sherry-Tomato Vinaigrette

By NicoleS

This restaurant-style dish requires a pot of pricey olive oil and promises super-moist, delicately cooked fish. Using a small skillet and flipping the fish halfway through allowed us to cut back to 3/4 cup of oil, which we employed to crisp flavorful garnishes and finally blended into a creamy vinaigrette.

Ingredients

• Fish:
• 4 4 1 (6-ounce) skinless white fish fillets, 1 inch thick
• Kosher salt
• 4 4 4 ounces frozen artichoke hearts, thawed, patted dry, and sliced in half lengthwise
• 1 1 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 3/4 3/4 3/4 cup olive oil
• 3 3 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 1/2 1/2 onion, peeled
• Vinaigrette:
• 4 4 4 ounces cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 1/2 1/2 small shallot, peeled
• 4 4 4 teaspoons sherry vinegar
• Kosher salt
• 1/2 1/2 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 1 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• 2 2 1/8-inch-thick ounces cherry tomatoes, cut into 1/8-inch-thick rounds

Details

Servings 4
Adapted from americastestkitchen.com

Preparation

Step 1

1. FOR THE FISH: Adjust oven racks to middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 250 degrees. Pat fish dry with paper towels and season each fillet with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, toss artichokes and cornstarch in bowl to coat. Heat 1/2 cup oil in 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Shake excess cornstarch from artichokes and add to skillet; cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp and golden, 2 to 4 minutes. Add garlic and continue to cook until garlic is golden, 30 to 60 seconds. Strain oil through fine-mesh strainer into bowl. Transfer artichokes and garlic to ovenproof paper towel–lined plate and season with salt. Do not wash strainer.

3. Return strained oil to skillet and add remaining ¼ cup oil. Place onion half in center of pan. Let oil cool until it registers about 180 degrees, 5 to 8 minutes. Arrange fish fillets, skinned side up, around onion (oil should come roughly halfway up fillets). Spoon a little oil over each fillet, cover skillet, transfer to middle rack, and cook for 15 minutes.

4. Remove skillet from oven. Using 2 spatulas, carefully flip fillets. Cover skillet, return to middle rack, and place plate with artichokes and garlic on lower-middle rack. Continue to cook fish until it registers 130 to 135 degrees, 9 to 14 minutes longer. Gently transfer fish to serving platter, reserving 1/2 cup oil, and tent fish loosely with aluminum foil. Turn off oven, leaving plate of artichokes in oven.

5. FOR THE VINAIGRETTE: Process whole cherry tomatoes, shallot, vinegar, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper with reserved 1/2 cup fish cooking oil in blender until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Add any accumulated fish juice from platter, season with salt to taste, and blend for 10 seconds. Strain sauce through fine-mesh strainer, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible (discard solids).

6. To serve, pour vinaigrette around fish. Garnish each fillet with warmed crisped artichokes and garlic, parsley, and tomato rounds. Serve immediately.