It was one of those summer days at the fly-in fishing camp. As a rookie guide, I frequently had to fry fish for shore lunch. It got pretty stale eating fried fish, potatoes and beans nearly every single day.
One time though we had a guest with celiac disease. So our typical fried fish in flour would not be made. Instead my mentor, an Ojibwe elder, ended up boiling the fish in vegetables. Fresh vegetables in a fishing camp were hard to come by so it was a very tasty meal, despite how bland it sounds. Definitely a much needed break from all the deep fried matter.
It’s an easy meal and it’s surprisingly tasty. Since I started living on my own, I’ve prepared this meal a lot. I discuss how to prepare it at home or for a shore lunch.
Ingredients
There are really a lot of vegetables that you can use, though I would recommend tough ones like potatoes, onions, carrots and broccoli. Sometimes peas and corn can be a nice addition. Basically any vegetable that is good boiled will work.
As for the fish, any lean fish fillets will work. Walleyes, pike and perch are the best. Approximately two walleye filets per person is the amount to use.
For seasoning, butter, salt and ground pepper is all you really need. I may experiment more with this but these are very available ingredients.
Preparation
There isn’t a whole lot to it. Dice up all your vegetables into small pieces and boil. Different vegetables boil at different rates, definitely start potatoes and carrots a little early. Once they are tender, then you’re good to go.
In the meantime, dice the fillets into bite sized chunks. When the vegetables are close to ready, add the fish. The fish cooks in less than a minute. Ideally it should be cooked enough so that it doesn’t flake apart. If it flakes apart, it’s not the biggest deal though.
Once everything is boiled, dump all the contents into a strainer to release all moisture. One all the water is drained, return the contents to the pot. Add your salt, pepper, and a chunk of butter. Mix everything together and make sure the butter melts. Then serve, it’s that easy.
Final Words
Even though it’s not an elaborate or nice looking meal, it’s a quick and easy meal that cooks everything in one pot. It’s definitely a welcome change from the usual fried fish. It’s certainly a good way for celiacs to eat fish.
Please let me know in the comments if there are other vegetables that would be good with this.
