Fish Stock
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lb (750 g) fish bones and heads
- 1 onion
- 8 fl oz (250 ml) white wine or juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1 3/4 pints (1 litre) water
- 3-5 sprigs of parsley
- 1 tsp (5 ml) peppercorns
Instructions
- #How to fish stock is an indispensable ingredient in many sauces, soups, and chowders. Bones, heads, and tails of lean white fish, especially flatfish, such as sole, are recommended for stock. Avoid rich fish, such as mackerel, that can make stock oily. Fish stock keeps well up to 2 days if it is kept covered in the refrigerator, or it can he frozen.# Thoroughly wash the fish bones and heads. Cut the bones into 4-5 pieces with a chefs knife. Peel the onion, leaving a little of the root attached, and cut it in half through the root and stalk. Lay each onion half on a chopping board and cut it vertically into thin slices.
- Put the fish bones and heads in a medium saucepan with the onion slices, wine or lemon juice, water, parsley sprigs, and peppercorns. Bring to a boil and simmer 20 minutes. Skim the stock occasionally with a large metal spoon. TAKE CARE: Do not simmer fish stock too long or it will he hitter.
- Strain the stock into a bowl. Let cool, then cover and keep in the refrigerator. “I never season stock with salt and ground pepper at the time of making, because it might he reduced later in individual recipes and the flavours will intensify.”