Zander, also called pike-perch, is a warm-water fish that thrives in both fresh and brackish water. It prefers large rivers, clear lakes, and the basins of southern seas, including the Black and Azov Seas. The fillet of this predatory member of the perch family is rich in mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids and in minerals such as zinc, iodine, magnesium, iron, potassium, calcium, sodium, phosphorus, and fluorine. As a food, zander supports cardiovascular, digestive, endocrine, and musculoskeletal health.
Ingredients: cleaned zander – 1 kg, fish stock from the head and tail – 1 liter, lemon – 1 piece, onion – 1 piece, mushrooms – 60 g, oil – 10 g, Riesling or another dry white wine – 100 g, salt and white pepper – to taste.
Cut off the head and tail, remove the skin, gut the fish, and rinse it under running water. Pat the fish dry and sprinkle it with lemon juice. Use the head and tail to make fish stock.
Finely chop the onion. Wash the mushrooms and slice them thinly. Cut the fish into pieces.
Grease a deep frying pan or a heat-resistant glass dish with oil. Add enough oil to sauté the onion. Place the fish pieces in the dish, season with salt and a light sprinkling of white pepper, heat the pan, and fry the fillets on both sides. Top the zander with the sliced mushrooms, pour in the white wine and the fish stock, cover with a lid, and simmer in a preheated oven at 180°C (356°F) for 30 minutes.
Serve the cooked fish on plates, garnished with the mushrooms and lemon. Serve with boiled potatoes or bread. Add parsley if desired.
Life Hack
Choose side dishes that don’t overpower the fish’s flavor and aroma. Good companions include potatoes, rice, buckwheat, corn, lentils, or salad vegetables such as tomatoes or radishes. Bake the fish with onions, carrots, Brussels sprouts, eggplant, zucchini, bell peppers, corn, green peas, spinach, green beans, or asparagus.
