Poached Mediterranean Bass – Serendipitous

My dear friend Carmela Mindel caught me just as I was heading into the fish store on Victoria. Good thing I mentioned where I was because she told me that she was recently inspired to make her mom’s Poached Mediterranean Bass and quickly listed the ingredients. Just 15 minutes later I walked out of the store with some delectable smoked salmon, a Mediterranean bass and fond memories of her mom’s family dinners with a gorgeous platter of delicate white bass and her homemade mayonnaise.  

Poached Mediterranean Bass

• 1 carrot, scrubbed, cut in 4
• 1 onion, sliced, quartered
• 1 lemon, juice and rind
• handful of dill or parsley sprigs
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 t kosher salt
• 4 T vinegar
• 2 t Better than Bouillon seasoned vegetable base
• 1 Mediterranean bass (2 pounds), cleaned, head and tail on, wrapped in cheesecloth
• 1 T parsley, and parsley sprigs, as garnish
• 1 lemon, cut into 8 wedges, as garnish

Fill a fish poacher, or a roasting pan, almost half way with water, then add carrot, onion, lemon juice and rind, dill, bay leaf, salt  and bouillon. Simmer the court bouillon (poaching broth) for 6 minutes, then add the fish and simmer, covered for 15 minutes, turning the fish at halftime.  

Place the cooked fish on a serving platter, carefully removing the cheesecloth. Gently remove the head and skin from the top side of the fish and discard any visible fins and bones.

Sprinkle the parsley over the fish, place lemon around the fish and serve with Dijon Mayonnaise Sauce. Can be served hot, warm or cold. Serves 4 – 5. Warn diners to watch for bones.

Dijon Mayonnaise Sauce

• 2 t capers
• 1/4 c mayonnaise
• 2 t Dijon mustard
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a small bowl, combine ingredients.

Wanda Cukier’s Homemade Mayonnaise

Here’s the recipe from Carmela’s mom, Wanda Cukier.  

• 1 egg yolk in bowl
• salt and pepper
• Dijon mustard
• lemon juice
• olive oil

In a medium-sized bowl, mix yolk, salt and pepper with a fork, always going in the same direction. Add a little Dijon mustard. Very slowly, drop by drop and mixing constantly, add lemon juice, then drop by drop olive oil.

Continue doing this until you have the amount of mayonnaise you want and the consistency you need.

If you mix the wrong way it all falls apart. Good luck if you decide to try it.

Poached Mediterranean Bass Print Ready Recipe

Final notes:

• Happy to announce that my husband enjoyed the PMB with the DMS and a couple of knish. The sweet corn was swoon worthy.
• This recipe for Poached Mediterranean Bass helped round out some sketchy details.
• Looking for more info on making homemade mayonnaise?
• To set the mood here are 10 great films set on the Mediterranean.
• Every time anyone mentions poaching fish someone brings up cooking fish in the dishwasher. Is it safe? Can it be done? Maybe for small fillets but not for a whole fish? What do you think?