Here is a recipe for the last fish stock I made using sea bass. The ingredients I used are the ones I had on hand; keep in mind you can add any herb or flavorful vegetable to a stock. In this recipe, I used fennel trimmings because my fish stock was made to be used in a fennel puree but I could have used celery instead for example. Sometimes I even add it a glass of dry white wine, it gives it a great taste

Once you’re done, there are plenty of uses for your homemade fish stock. You can use it to cook pasta or rice (when making a seafood risotto for example). It’s also a great base for making a flavorful sauce for a fish or seafood. Don’t be shy, experiment with it

Preparation time: 5 minutes  – Cooking time: 30- 35 minutes

Ingredients (for 12 cups of stock)

1.1 lbs (500 g) of fish heads, bones and fins
16 cups (4 l) of water
1 thyme branch (or 3 tablespoons of dry thyme)
3 tablespoons of tarragon
2 tablespoons of parsley
2 tablespoons trimmings from a fennel bulb
2 tablespoons of chervil
1 bay leaf
2 shallots
1 carrot

Instructions

1/ Rinse fish pieces and dip them in 3 cups of salted water so all the remaining blood gets out.

2/ Peel shallots and carrot. Cut them by half.

3/ Fill a casserole with 13 cups of water. Add all herbs, fennel trimmings, shallots and carrot and get to a boil.

4/ When water is boiling, add fish pieces and reduce heat. Leave covered for 20 to 25 minutes.

5/ Take fish, carrot and shallots out and filter passing your stock through a strainer.

That’s it! Let it cool down and  freeze or refrigerate (if you’re going to use within a few days).

The herb mix used in this stuffed chicken breasts recipe is commonly used in French cuisine, we call it ‘fines herbes‘. It’s a mix of chives, chervil, parsley and tarragon… Perfect with fish and white meats.
I cook herbed mascarpone stuffed chicken quite often because it’s really easy and quickly made. Fines herbes are really tasty and trust me the herbs and wine sauce is to die for with mashed potatoes .

Preparation time: 10 mn  Cooking time: 20 mn

Ingredients (for 4 servings)

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
9 oz (250 g) of Mascarpone cheese
4/5 cup (20 cl) of dry white wine
2 tablespoons of butter
1 handful of chives
1 handful of parsley
1 handful of chervil
1 handful of tarragon
Salt & pepper

Instructions

1/ Preheat oven to 350° F (180° C/Th 6).

2/ Rinse and chop chives, chervil, parsley and tarragon.

3/ In a bowl, combine mascarpone cheese with herbs. Season generously with salt and pepper.

4/ Open chicken breasts by entering a knife in the center. Slice to both sides being careful not to break it.

5/ Stuff them with the herbed mascarpone. (If there are thiner parts of the chicken breasts you can’t stuff, top the stuffed chicken breast with a layer of herbed mascarpone and finish with a layer of chicken.)

6/ Dispose chicken breasts in an ovenproof dish. Pour white wine over them and top each chicken breast with a piece of butter. Top with salt and pepper.

7/ Bake in oven for 25 minutes.

Serve right away with boiled potatoes, rice or broccoli. Perfect with mashed potatoes.

En papillote is the easiest and probably healthiest way of cooking fish. I use this technique quite often because you can basically put any fish you like with any vegetable you have left in the fridge in a papillote. It’s very simple, you  seal in an aluminum foil precooked  veggies and fish (or fish fillets) and bake it for 10 to 15 minutes. There are endless recipes. If you’re going for a diet meal don’t use butter or oil, ingredients will steam on their own juice.

This rainbow trout recipe is made with a lime tarragon butter and a mix of red peppers, leek and Portobello mushrooms. Don’t be afraid to invent your own variations, with the vegetables you like more .

Preparation time: 10 mn  Cooking time: 20 mn

Ingredients (for 4 servings)

4 rainbow trouts (cleaned and ready to cook)
6 Portobello mushrooms
2 leeks
1 red pepper
1 lime
4 tablespoons of butter (at room temperature)
1 1/2 tablespoon of tarragon
1 tablespoon of olive oil
Salt and pepper

Instructions

1/ Peel and cut leek.

2/ Clean and cut red pepper in 2 parts. Take seeds off and dice pepper.

3/ Peel mushrooms (by taking off the white ’skin’ they have on top and cutting the end of it) and slice them.

4/ Pour olive oil in a frying pan and heat it over medium heat. Add red pepper and leek.

5/ Preheat oven to 350° F (180° C/Th 6).

6/ In a bowl, blend butter and tarragon. Squeeze lime and add juice to the tarragon butter.

7/ Place each trout on a piece of aluminum foil and stuff them with the tarragon butter.

8/ Fold aluminum paper sealing the end parts and pour leek, mushrooms and red pepper on top of the trout. Add salt and pepper.

9/ Finish sealing the pouches and bake in oven for 10 to 15 minutes.

Serve rainbow trouts in their papillote with potatoes or rice. Great with gratin dauphinois.