Boiled Pollock

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   Fill a pot with cold filtered water and add a peeled white onion. Mine were small onions, so I used two. Set the pot over medium heat.

2. Step 2:

   

   Wash the carrot under running water, scrubbing the skin with a brush if it's very dirty. Peel the carrot — a vegetable peeler makes this easy. Add the carrot to the pot. The vegetables aren't chopped here, because they're only in the broth for flavor.

3. Step 3:

   

   Wash the herbs and cut off the tough stems. Add the stems to the pot. Save the leaves for garnishing later. Add the allspice and a small bay leaf. By the way, few cooks save the tough stems of fresh herbs, simply tossing them out. And that's a real shame, because they're perfect for flavoring broths!

4. Step 4:

   

   As soon as the broth comes to a boil, add salt to taste. This timing matters for preserving the look of the inside of stainless steel pots. Plus, unsalted water comes to a boil faster.

5. Step 5:

   

   Simmer the broth for a couple of minutes after it boils, until the water turns yellow. That's your cue to remove the herbs and all the seasonings — they won't be needed anymore. The onion and carrot stay put; they haven't yet given the broth everything they can.

6. Step 6:

   

   Right away, add the thawed, washed, and portioned pollock fillets to the pot. You can also use steaks of this fish. Pollock has a fairly mild, neutral flavor on its own, and thanks to the flavored broth, the finished dish turns out far more interesting than if you'd simply boiled the pollock in water.

7. Step 7:

   

   Foam may form in the pot as it cooks. That's protein that has coagulated from the heat, and it's completely normal — just skim it off with a tablespoon or slotted spoon. Pollock cooks very quickly; fifteen minutes after it returns to a boil is plenty. The boiled onion from the broth is usually discarded, but the carrot tastes quite nice and can be happily eaten.