Fishy Friday

 

 

A fresh catch has arrived at a local poissonnerie.

 

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Look (and ask) for:

 

lieu noir - pollack

lieu jaune - yellowtail

bar - sea bass

saumon - salmon 

rouget - red mullet 

daurade - sea bream

églefin - haddock 

bulots - whelks  

cabillaud - cod

 truite - trout

thon - tuna 

 

The fishmongers' services include:

 

 écaillage - scaling

vissage - gutting

nettoyage - cleaning

désossage - de-boning

dépouillement - skinning

filetage - filleting

papillonnage - butterflying 

 

Custom cuts fall under coupes personnalisées.

Some will even package the fish for freezing or transport.

 

Fish Friday

Just a 5-minute walk from the Louvre a restaurant that feels like a Tokyo fish market.

Above: an eel keeps company next to a customer's table

 Kodawari Ramen

12 rue de Richelieu 75002

  

Fish Friday

 

It's Le Vendredi saint, Holy Friday, a day for fish.

Above: smoked salmon tartine with a glass of white

 

Delikatessen Kaviari

60 rue François Miron 75004

Fish soup Friday

In France, fish on Fridays is a given on restaurant menus throughout the year, but now that Le Carême (Lent) has arrived Friday fish consumption in all its forms will shift into high gear until Easter Sunday. Look for this bisque-like soupe de poisson with its traditional accompaniments - baguette croûtons, a grated gruyère-like cheese and rouille, a powerful Provençale sauce made by pounding together red chili peppers with a good amount of garlic and other ingredients into a mayo-like texture - a favorite sure to be showing up on both menus and dinner tables more than usual. - BPJ

Fish Friday

 An eye-catching array of fresh seafood.

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Throughout France, watch for at least one main course of fish or seafood on the menu at traditional French bistros, brasseries and restaurants every Friday, not just on Fridays during Lent, Le Carême. - BPJ

Shell game

Mussels and prawns with homemade aïoli and chilled white wine, en confinement.

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In Paris, most of our fish and shellfish arrives fresh daily from the rich waters of Brittany, which is not that far away. And almost always, giant gambas from Madagascar, Alaskan king crab and salmon along with other fishy imports comfortably share space on the fishmonger's counter. As with fruits and vegetables, some seasons are better than others (case in point: oysters) and right now we are on the cusp of the moules (mussels) season. Reports that restaurants, brasseries, bistros, cafés and other establishments that make up a huge part of the demand are still closed, creating a surplus, translate into bargains at local poissonières. So yesterday, grabbing my basket early and armed with my attestation de déplacement pour effectuer des achats de première nécessité (in short, documentation stating that my reason for being outside is to buy life/death items only), I ventured to a local poissonnerie to see what I could find. And I found lots. - BPJ

Fish Friday

Social distancing while shopping for fresh seafood.

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For many, the virus seems to have triggered a sort of "protective instinct" in our partners - some say the reason more men than women seem to be at all the food markets these days, insisting that we ladies stay home and let them brave masked shoppers, wait in lines and leave the eggplant squeezing to them. - BPJ

Soupe du jour

 

 

With le confinement in force we've been making a different soup almost every day.

Above: soupe de poisson à la provençale with its grated gruyère, garlic-paprika rouille and croûtons

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Recipes in April newsletter

...And fishes

Fresh fish supplies at an outdoor market will be depleted by mid-morning.