Gourmet moment: Baked arctic char

This Wednesday shall start off with a yummy recipe in my “Gourmet moment” where I share my home cooked meals with you which will hopefully inspire you to try cooking and experimenting with different food at home. Cooking at home is therapeutic for me and I love to challenge myself and always try to either invent some new recipes or twist and adjust already tried recipes and make them even better. 🙂

This oven baked arctic char was my lunch yesterday and I must say that it was a big success as it as super delicious and something I can’t find anywhere in Helsinki restaurants ( in this particular combination/ taste ).

I love salmon, but I find arctic char to be very similar, but more rich in taste, so I’ve opted for filet of this fish but you can totally try this same recipe with salmon too. Gnocchi were a typical side to any main course in my childhood, so I wanted to try and pair them with fish and my signature funnel mushroom and sage sauce. It worked so well together and if you can, def. try it in this mix, but if you want, you can switch the gnocchi with rice or mashed potatoes.

*WHAT YOU NEED ( 2 people ):

420 grams of arctic char filet ( 0.92 lbs )

2 handfuls of funnel mushrooms

2 scallions/ spring onions

2 garlic cloves , anis

salt, pepper, olive oil, fish spice

half a lemon / sliced up

100 ml of milk

1 pack of Mascarpone cheese

1 tbsp honey

ground pistachio ( or almonds )

grated fresh Parmigiano reggiano

5-6 Sage leaves / chopped up

2 handfuls of gnocchi

*HOW TO: 

Preheat the oven to 180°C/ 356 F. Oil your baking tray with olive oil, place the arctic char filet skin side down. Sprinkle some olive oil on top of the filet. Season the filet with salt, pepper, anis and fish spice of your choice. Slice 2 garlic cloves and place them on top of the filet. Slice up half a lemon into wedges and place on top of the filet too. Put it all in the oven and bake for 20 minutes.

Bring a pot of water to boil, add some salt and throw in 2 handfuls of gnocchi and cook them for 2-3 minutes. Drain them and set aside.

Prepare your sage-mushroom sauce by chopping up mushrooms, scallions, grate your Parmigiano reggiano and crush the pistachios ( or almonds ). Heat up some butter or olive oil in the frying pan on medium high heat. Throw in chopped up scallions, sprinkle some sugar ( optional ) on it and let it simmer for a moment. Add your mushrooms, sage and stir everything well. Wait for a moment for mushrooms to “let the water” out and then season everything with an overall seasoning or just salt+ pepper. Add pack of mascarpone cheese in the pan and let it melt while stirring at the same time.

Go ahead and add milk, Parmigiano reggiano and honey and then stir everything well. Let it all boil for 3 minutes and finally add pistachios in the pan/ sauce mixture and let it all boil for a minute and your sauce is ready.

Plate everything nicely and enjoy your meal! 🙂