flipLake Pike with Verjuice and Saffron
Lake Pike with Verjuice and Saffron
Why this dish? Viviane is the Lady of the Lake: her realm is fresh water, and the pike is its lord, this great predator that was fished in the ponds of Brocéliande and the moats of castles. Serving a pike gilded with saffron at the table of Camelot is to offer the king of fish adorned with the color of fairies.
Poached pike steaks coated in a golden sauce of saffron, ginger, and verjuice — lively, tangy, and fragrant, as sauces were loved at the medieval court.
Draw near, and fear not my lake. This pike I saw gliding beneath the water lilies before my people caught it at dawn. We cook it in simmering water, not too long, for its flesh is tender as the dawn; then we crown it with a sauce where saffron lends its golden brightness and verjuice its sharp point. See how it gleams: such is the table I keep beneath the waters, where no mortal strays without my will.
- •Whole pike (or large steaks) — one fine fish (noble lean freshwater fish)
- •Saffron — a few stigmas (golden color and fragrance)
- •Verjuice (green grape juice) — a good dash (sharp acidity)
- •Ginger and grains of paradise — to taste (warm spices)
- •Toasted breadcrumbs — a handful (sauce thickener)
- •Parsley and salt — to taste (seasoning)
Lake Pike with Verjuice and Saffron
Poached pike steaks coated in a golden sauce of saffron, ginger, and verjuice — lively, tangy, and fragrant, as sauces were loved at the medieval court.
Why this dish? Viviane is the Lady of the Lake: her realm is fresh water, and the pike is its lord, this great predator that was fished in the ponds of Brocéliande and the moats of castles. Serving a pike gilded with saffron at the table of Camelot is to offer the king of fish adorned with the color of fairies.
Draw near, and fear not my lake. This pike I saw gliding beneath the water lilies before my people caught it at dawn. We cook it in simmering water, not too long, for its flesh is tender as the dawn; then we crown it with a sauce where saffron lends its golden brightness and verjuice its sharp point. See how it gleams: such is the table I keep beneath the waters, where no mortal strays without my will.
Ingredients (period version)
- Whole pike (or large steaks) — one fine fish (noble lean freshwater fish)
- Saffron — a few stigmas (golden color and fragrance)
- Verjuice (green grape juice) — a good dash (sharp acidity)
- Ginger and grains of paradise — to taste (warm spices)
- Toasted breadcrumbs — a handful (sauce thickener)
- Parsley and salt — to taste (seasoning)
Ingredients
- Pike (or zander/pollock as substitute) — 4 steaks (600 g) (main fish)
- Saffron — 1 good pinch (15 threads) (color and fragrance)
- Verjuice — 6 cl (or lemon juice + water) (acidity)
- Ground ginger — 1/2 tsp (spice)
- Cinnamon — 1 pinch (sweet spice)
- Stale white bread — 1 slice (thickener)
- Court-bouillon (water, parsley, salt, 1 onion) — 1 liter (poaching liquid)
Method
- Prepare a court-bouillon with water, onion, parsley, and salt; bring to a simmer (not a rolling boil).
- Poach the pike steaks for 8 to 10 minutes, until the flesh flakes. Keep warm.
- Infuse the saffron in 10 cl of hot court-bouillon.
- Blend the bread with the saffron broth, verjuice, ginger, and cinnamon to obtain a smooth sauce.
- Gently heat the sauce without boiling; adjust salt and acidity.
- Spoon the golden sauce over the steaks, sprinkle with parsley, and serve immediately.
How it was made : "Lean" days (Fridays, Lent) were numerous in the Middle Ages, and freshwater fish — pike, carp, eel — reigned on lordly tables. Medieval sauces were thickened not with flour but with breadcrumbs, and favored acidity (verjuice, vinegar) over fat. Saffron signaled luxury.
The contemporary twist : Plate the steak on a mirror of saffron sauce and dot with three drops of verjuice like water pearls — "the pike risen from the Lake."
Sources : Le Viandier de Taillevent (14th c.) · Le Ménagier de Paris (1393)
The Lady of the Lake · Charactorium
