Wels Catfish Baked with Vegetables Under a Lid
Here, a dish with a lid does what foil is usually assigned to do — it holds in the steam. The difference is that the lid doesn't need to be fastened and doesn't tear on the fins, and it lifts off with one hand whenever you need to check the potatoes.
A piece of butter on each steak isn't there for flavor. Wels catfish is fatty on its own, but its fat sits in the flesh rather than on the surface; the butter, dripping down from above, binds the top layer and keeps it from drying out where the lid's steam doesn't reach.
The vegetables go in at the bottom in three layers and are timed by the potatoes. Here they're cut into slices and take forty minutes under the lid — the onion and carrot are ready earlier and only release their juice upward.
A lid stands in for foil here. The same fish bakes uncovered in whole wels catfish baked with potatoes and garlic, while on the stovetop liquid does the steam's job instead — catfish with vegetables in vegetable broth, pan-cooked.
Caloric content: 165kcal
Gutting the Catfish
Marinating the Steaks
Cutting the Onion
Cutting the Carrot
Cutting the Potatoes
Adding the Onion
Adding the Carrot
Adding the Potatoes
Adding the Fish
Adding the Butter
Baking
Serving
Notes
- The head and tail are set aside for stock. From wels catfish they make a rich fish soup — a second dish from the same fish.
- Lemon juice in the marinade is a must. It removes the muddy taste, which comes through more strongly in wels catfish the bigger the fish is.
- Don't change the order of the layers. The onion at the bottom releases juice, the carrot in the middle absorbs it, and the potatoes on top cook through in the steam. Rearranged layers don't work.
- Don't lift the lid until the end. Every time it's opened, steam escapes, and forty minutes stops being enough.
- Cut the steaks two centimeters thick. Thinner ones fall apart under the weight of the butter, thicker ones won't finish cooking together with the potatoes.
Questions and Answers
How long to bake wels catfish with vegetables?
Forty minutes at 180 °C under the lid. The potatoes set the time — the fish is ready sooner.
Why put butter on the fish?
Dripping down from above, it seals the top layer of flesh, which the steam under the lid reaches less well.
Can the lid be replaced with foil?
Yes — seal it on top and fold the edge twice. A lid is more convenient because it lifts off with one hand.
Why don't the potatoes cook through?
They're cut too thick, or the lid was opened during baking — both let steam escape.
Recipe and step-by-step photos — kolizhanka.net.ua.
