Ohio Walleye is a close relative and perfectly suitable equivalent to the French brochet (pike). Its 'Y' shaped bones are difficult to remove but well worth the effort. Pike can be poached in a court bouillon and served with a horseradish sauce or filleted and baked in white wine or cider. Quenelles are perhaps the best-known way to prepare pike. Sauce nantua is the classic accompaniment to the quenelles although any herb-flavored white wine sauce would work well too.

Ingredients for the quenelles :

500g (1 1/8 lb) pike fillet, skinned, filleted and boned
200g (7oz) butter
2 eggs
4 egg yolks

Ingredients for the panade:

125g (4 ½ oz) flour
4 eggs
90g (3 ½ oz) butter
250ml (8fl oz) milk
salt, pepper and nutmeg

Ingredients for the sauce nantua :

1kg (2 ¼ lb) unshelled raw crayfish, prawns or langoustines (or a mixture of the three)
salt and pepper
2 tbs olive oil
20g ( ¾ oz) butter
1carrot
1onion, peeled and finely chopped
½ fennel bulb, finely chopped
100ml (3 ½ fl oz) brandy
400ml (14fl oz) dry white wine
bouquet garni
sprig of tarragon
1 tsp tomato purée
3 tbs Crème fraîche
beurre manie - 100g (4oz) butter to 25g (1oz) flour

Preparation :

Start this recipe the day before it is required.
To make the "panade", melt the butter in saucepan and add the flour and egg yolks. Reduce the heat and pour in the milk, a little at a time, whisking vigorously until you get a soft paste very similar to choux pastry. Add salt and plenty of pepper and a little grated nutmeg and cook for a further 5-6 minutes stirring all the time. Let the mixture cool and refrigerate overnight.

To prepare the sauce, wash the shellfish, add salt and pepper to taste and cook briskly in olive oil for about 2 minutes reduce the heat, cover and simmer for a further 5 minutes. Shell, de-vein and put aside. Retain the shells and heads and process in a blender. Wipe the pan with kitchen roll, melt the butter and add the carrot, onion and fennel. Once soft, add the brandy and set alight. Add the white wine, bouquet garni, tarragon, tomato puree and processed shells. Cook over a moderate heat for a further 10 minutes and season to taste. Remove the majority of the pieces of shell with a slotted spoon and add the beurre-manie a little at a time to bind the sauce.

Add the crème fraiche and sieve.

Stir in the cooked crayfish (for a smooth sauce, liquidize again). Check for seasoning and cool until needed. To make the quenelles, cube the fillets, and place with butter and the "panade" in a food-processor and blend for 3 minutes until it is a fine paste. Put the mixture in a large bowl and incorporate each egg and yolk one by one stirring with a wooden spoon. Pass through a sieve if needed and cool. To shape the quenelles, either use quenelles moulds or take two dessertspoons to shape oval patties from the mixture, ensuring that the spoons are cleaned in a bowl of hot water after each one has been made. Alternatively, use a piping-bag with a large nozzle to make lozenge-shapes. Poach the quenelles for 30 minutes by simmering in a large pan of salted water or fish stock. Remove from the liquid and drain carefully onto a tea towel. If using moulds, place in bain-marie of simmering water in a moderate oven for about 30 minutes. Reheat the sauce and pour onto individual plates place the quenelles on top and garnish to taste or place the quenelles in a gratin dish, cover with the sauce and reheat for a few minutes in to the oven before serving.