Saturday, August 02, 2014

Simple, yet decadent fish supper: pan-fried vendace

Praetud rääbised / Pan-fried whitefish and tomato salad

This was originally posted in August 2012. I reposted this in late June, when the catching season for Lake Peipus vendace began and fresh and smoked vendace was again available, if pricey (going rate for a kilogram of smoked fish was about 20 Euros in June. But, oh so worth it). Now the Finnish vendace - slightly smaller, but just as delicious - has hit the market stalls, and we had pan-fried vendace for dinner tonight. Hence the reposting :)

Vendace is a wonderful freshwater whitefish that you'll find all over the northern continental Europe. The Latin name is Coregonus albula, and although it looks quite similar to the Estonian "national fish" Baltic Herring (räim aka Clupea harengus membras) that belongs to the herring family, then vendace is actually part of the salmonidae family alongside salmon, char, trout, graylings and other freshwater whitefishes.You're most likely to come across vendace (also called European cisco) in the lakes of Finland, Sweden, Russia and Estonia, as well as some lakes in the UK, Poland and Northern Germany. When I say the lakes of Estonia, I mean Lake Peipus - and must sadly admit that vendace has been scarce in the local waters during the last years.

Imagine my excitement when I saw beautifully fresh vendace at the local farmer's market yesterday morning! I immediately bought some hot-smoked vendace for lunch, and almost a kilogram of fresh vendace for dinner. It's such a delicate and excellent fish that doesn't need much messing around. A quick bath in a seasoned rye flour, followed by frying in hot butter or oil - you'll find the "recipe" below. I served the fried vendace with a fresh tomato salad, and the meal was enjoyed by all, including the small kids.

A note on vendace roe. The dark orange-coloured vendace roe (rääbisemari/löjrom) is a true delicacy, and Kalix löjrom from  the Swedish Botnia Bay archipelago has even been granted a PDO (protected designation of origin) status by the European Union, just like Prosciutto ham from Tuscany or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese from Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna. When the rather excellent roe of common/European whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus) cost 799 SEK (Swedish crowns) in a supermarket in Stockholm back in early June, then the vendace roe was almost double the price, 1490 SEK:


Sorry for the photo quality - it was a quick snap with my mobile phone.

Names in other languages: rääbis (Estonian), muikku (Finnish), ryapushka (Russian), löj (Swedish), corégone blanc/la petite marène (French), Kleine Maräne (German).

Pan-fried vendace
(Pannil praetud rääbised)

Praetud rääbised / Pan-fried whitefish

fresh vendace (calculate about 2-3 fish per person)
rye flour or oatmeal
salt
freshly ground black pepper
fresh dill, finely chopped
oil and butter for frying

Season the flour with salt and pepper, then roll the fish in the flour until evenly covered. Heat some butter and oil (or just one or the other) in a heavy frying pan over medium heat. Add the fish and fry for a few minutes on one side until dark golden brown, then carefully turn over and fry the other side for a few minutes again.

Garnish with a sprinkling of dill and serve with boiled new potatoes or potato mash, and perhaps a dollop of good home-made mayonnaise (be sure to click on the link if you haven't seen the cool Nami-Nami video recipe yet).

9 comments:

anuwintschalek said...

Nämm!

love cooking said...

This looks really good. Pan fried fish always my favorite. Sometimes, I just pan fried the fish then season with soy sauce, very simple and easy but really yummy. :)

Katherine said...

This looks great!

http://therealfoodrunner.blogspot.com/

liisamarja said...

oh oh oh! but you must use butter to fry them, says my mom...
i'm sorry lake peipus isn't giving you more fish, luckily where our cottage is we still get some muikku, among other kinds of fish.

i'm trusting you ate the vendace with no knife and fork, and licked you fingers afterwards!

BrittArnhild said...

My husband and I will be spending next weekend in Tallinn. I have just booked a table at restaurant Nevskij for one of our nights, and when doing a google search for another place, I found your blog. I love to learn about loccal food when I travel, and have a special section in my blog which is called food and travels. I have now saved your blog address, and will be back.

By the way, do you have a charming, local restaurant to suggest, for lunch and/or dinner next Saturday.

Jael said...

Oh how much I love vendace !This summer had it twice;pan fried like you did and my friend in Mikkeli smoked the fish,oh was it good!

Hotel near universal studio said...

Wow..what a look..!!! this look really gud. Thanks for sharing yummy post.

The Edinburgers said...

Wow, this looks delicious and pretty easy to make! We will have to give it a try :)

chinese food recipes said...

Never eat vendace, looks great to pan fry. I will have a try using other kind of fish. Can it be cooked like steaming?