Pike Fillet on a Bed of Potato Salad with Pumpkin Seeds
This simple dish combines pan-sautéed fish fillets and warm potato salad sharpened with apple cider vinegar and tarragon mustard. The toasted pumpkin seeds add crunch.
Ingredients
- Potato Salad
- Waxy potatoes, like Yellow Finn - 6 small
- Apple cider vinegar - 1/4 cup
- Sugar - 1 tablespoon
- Tarragon mustard - 1 teaspoon
- Vegetable Oil - 2 tablespoons
- Red Onion - 1, minced
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Pike
- Pike - 1-1/2 pounds, deboned and cut into 4 pieces
- Salt - 2 tablespoons
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- Flour for dusting
- Unsalted Butter - 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick)
- Lamb’s Lettuce - 2 cups
- Pumpkin Seeds - 1/2 cup, toasted (see Basics)
- Pumpkin seed oil - 2 tablespoons
Instructions
To make the salad: Cover the potatoes with salted water in a large saucepan or pot and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to medium, and boil until tender, 12 - 15 minutes. Remove from heat, drain, and fill the pan with cold water. Drain again. Spread the potatoes out on a work surface on paper towels and let stand until cool enough to handle, then peel off the skins. Slice into 1/4-inch-thick slices and put in a bowl. Blend the vinegar, sugar, mustard, and oil together and pour over the potatoes; toss the potatoes to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic and let steep for 15 minutes. Add the red onions and season with salt and pepper.
To prepare the pike: Season the pike with salt, pepper, and lemon juice, cover with plastic wrap, and marinate in the refrigerator for 10 minutes. Melt the butter over medium-high heat. Remove the pan from the heat. Rinse the fish and dust heavily with flour. Put the pan back on the heat and sauté the fish in the butter until crispy. Do not let the butter brown. Drain the fillets on paper towels.
To serve: Arrange the lettuce on two serving plates. Spoon a bed of potato salad on each plate. Place 2 pieces of fish over the potato salad on each plate. Garnish with pumpkin seeds and a drizzle of pumpkin seed oil.
