Sturgeon General

California White Sturgeon with Ginger, Lemongrass and Coconut Sauce

I wandered into Aquarius Fish Company on Saturday hoping to find some insipration as to what to cook for dinner. I had spent most of the day at the office and needed to turn my brain off for the rest of the weekend. Whatever I was going to cook needed to be easy, yet still provide me room to play.

I selected two fillets of Sturgeon and made my way to Wild Oats, searching for additional inspiration as to how to prepare the fish. Staring out the window at the cold gray weather, I decided to use Thai flavors as my inspiration. I picked up some lemongrass, lemons, ginger, basil, serrano peppers, squash, bell pepper and coconut milk.

I made a sauce out of diced shallots, minced garlic, sliced ginger, slice lemongrass, butter, coconut milk and vegtable stock. I let the sauce reduce for a while as I pan seared the Sturgeon. After lightly searing the surface of the fish I covered it with lemon, lime and bay leaf and wrapped it in tin foil. I slid it into the oven for about 10 minutes until it was just cooked through. I quickly sauteed the sunburst squash, slipped it on top of the sauce and placed the fish on top. Easy like Sunday morning.

This dish, which I threw together with nothing but the idea of a tropical flavor, turned out to be be quite lively and indulgent. If I closed my eyes I could imagine being someplace warm and humid. But alas it was time to go outside and salt the ice off of our front steps.

- J

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