Alsatian fish stew Matelote

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 2 kg fish(s) (river), strong, in equal parts, e.g. eel, perch, tench, pike, zander, burbot
• 3 carrots
• 3 stalk(s) leeks
• 3 onions
• 1 bottle of white wine (Riesling), 0.7 l
• 1 bottle of red wine, 0.7 l
• 600 ml water
• 150 g butter
• 2 tbsp flour
• 200 g crème fraîche
• 3 egg yolks
• Salt
• pepper

Instructions

Working time approx. 45 minutes; Total time approx. 45 minutes

Excellent ragout of river fish

Clean and chop the vegetables. Then, together with the spices, cook them in plenty of 600 ml (or a little more if necessary) of water with salt and pepper for about 1 hour until they form a stock. In the meantime, clean the fish and cut them into bite-sized pieces. Strain the stock, bring it to a boil with the wine, and let the fish pieces simmer in it for about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and keep warm. Bring the stock to a brisk boil and reduce by about half. Make a light roux with half the butter and flour. Pour in the reduced stock through a sieve, stirring constantly, slowly bring to a boil, and simmer until thickened. Mix the crème fraîche and egg yolk, then add a little of the hot sauce. Then return it to the pan and heat gently, but do not boil. Remove from the heat, stir in the remaining butter, and season with salt and pepper. Pour the sauce over the warm fish pieces and serve. Serve with fresh bread or a baguette. When choosing fish, you can follow your taste; you should choose at least four different species. It’s important that you choose firm-fleshed, rather robust varieties.