Fish is a favorite of mine; I especially love salmon. A small piece of salmon, less than half a pound is adequate for two meals for this single person. I have to admit that salmon tastes absolutely the best when prepared on my little George Foreman grill. On the other hand, the grill retains a fishy smell no matter how carefully it's cleaned. There's a lingering odor, too, when I use my pans to cook fish on the stove. For that reason, I looked for other ways to prepare fish.

I decided to use water to cook the fish, hoping that the pan would be easy to clean and wouldn't retain the slight fish smell between uses. Not that it's a bad smell; it's just that, in my mind, I associate any kind of food smell on cooking utensils with the need to do a better cleaning job. If it smells, it must, therefore, not be clean.

Anyways, like I said, I decided to use water and also decided that if I could poach an egg, I could poach fish. My recipe for poached fish varies each time I cook it, depending on what I have in the cupboard and the refrigerator. Also, this recipe is for one person (two meals) or two people (one meal). Served with a salad of fresh greens and other vegetables from the garden or the supermarket, it makes an easy-to-prepare, light summer lunch or supper. For a winter meal, I'd add more vegetables to thicken it up a bit.

Ingredients for Poached Fish...

water

salmon (3-ounce or 4-oz. pieces, no more than 1-inch at the thickest part)

sea salt

onions

celery w/leaves

pasta of your choice

shredded carrots

beer

ground paprika

freshly ground black pepper

Prepping and cooking...

1. In a pan large enough to contain your fish pieces in a single layer, heat enough water so that the fish will be just covered when it is added.

2. Cut fish (salmon or other favorite fish) into portions. When the water is at a very gentle boil, slip the fish in along with a bit of sea salt. What is a bit? Well, I cooked two portions and added less than 1/2-teaspoon sea salt. Keep in mind that sea salt is saltier than regular table salt. Also, consider that diners can add more salt at the table.

3. While the fish is in the initial stages of cooking, slice a small onion and place it on top of the salmon. Cut a cleaned stalk of celery into 2-3 pieces and add the pieces and the leaves to the pan.

4. Now measure out about 1/3 cup pasta per portion and add that to the pan, along with shredded carrots (as much as you like). Flora Tri Color Bow Ties add color and interesting shapes to this dish.

5. Set a timer for 5-6 minutes and continue cooking at a very gentle boil. At the end of this time, test the pasta and the fish for doneness.

6. A minute or two before serving, add beer* of your choice (1/2 cup for two portions), and sprinkle ground paprika and freshly ground black pepper on the fish.

(*I was drinking a bottle of Rolling Rock the first time I made this, and when the fish was almost ready, decided to pour the remaining beer into the broth.)

The amounts of the ingredients can easily be adjusted to serve more people. Be patient and resist the temptation to rush the cooking. This is a simple dish and needs the cooking time to blend the flavors. Clean-up is effortless, and there is no lingering smell in the cooking pan.

When the Poached Fish is ready to serve, you'll notice that the water has become a delicious fish stock. You have a choice of serving this dish as a soup, or you can dish up the ingredients with a slotted spoon.

Learn more about this author, Kathleen Richardson.
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