Pike
Almondine
Story and Photos by Ryan Sparks
I
stumbled across this recipe
while surfi ng and fi shing North
Carolina's Outer Banks. A woman
selling freshly caught fi sh out of
her home recommended the black-
bellied rosefi sh her son had caught
that morning. Having never heard of
the fi sh before, I asked her how she
would cook it. She rattled off a list
of ingredients, but being in a remote
area with no grocery store we told her
we didn't have much to work with.
Without a thought she went into her
kitchen and gathered everything in
a sack and gave it to us. I have her to
credit for the recipe. It has changed
a bit since then, but the bulk of the
recipe is hers. It will work with any
fl aky white fi sh, but it's perfect to
show off the boneless "backstrap" cut
fi lleted from a pike (see pages 60-61).
Servings: 4
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
•
4 tablespoons olive oil
•
6 tablespoons butter
•
Half a red onion, diced
•
6 garlic cloves, minced
•
4 russet potatoes, thinly sliced
•
1 pound green or yellow beans,
ends trimmed
•
½ cup slivered almonds
•
¼ cup half and half
•
4 boneless "backstrap" (tail pieces
will also work) pike fi llets, patted
dry and salted
•
Salt and pepper to taste
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Toss the potato slices in a large bowl
with 3 tablespoons of olive oil, arrange
them on cooking sheet and sprinkle
with salt. Bake the potatoes for 10-15
minutes until they are cooked through.
While you wait for the potatoes to
cook, bring a large pot of salted water
Pike are one of the most underrated fish swimming in Nebraska. They
are the complete package – fun to catch and delicious on the table.
52 Nebraskaland • November 2019
