Arctic Char (Salvelinus alpines) is a tasty member of the Salmonidae family and spends time in both freshwater and saltwater and has characteristics of both salmon and trout.  From a culinary perspective it probably tastes more like trout but it produces a filet like a salmon, so you get the best of both worlds.  The muscle structure, which becomes its flakiness once cooked, is more similar to trout as well.  There is a wild population which makes its way to market in the latter part of the summer or early fall.  Fish farming of this species now makes it available year round, lucky for both the home cook and restaurants.  Most of the Arctic char that reaches the US is raised in Canada. To prepare this fish, choose your favorite salmon or trout recipe, what could be simpler.  The recipe here, Seafood with Four Vegetables, is perfect for Arctic char.  This recipe can be cooked in one large pan and served with rice, plain or aromatic rice.  If you like to experiment with new fish and try a similar one side by side to compare, buy half Arctic char and half wild or farm-raised salmon and cook them together in this recipe.

Seafood with 4 Vegetables

• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• ½ lb carrots, cut into 1/4 inch dice
• 1 ½ cups chopped onions
• 4 ribs celery, cut in 1/4 inch dice
• 6 oz spinach, washed, stemmed, and coarsely chopped   
• 2 Tablespoons chopped garlic
• 2 Tablespoons minced parsley
• Black pepper
• 1 cup clam broth
• 1 ½ lbs fish fillets, cut into 4 portions*
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the carrots, onions and celery and saute until tender-crisp (8 to 10 minutes), stirring.  Stir in the spinach, garlic, parsley, and pepper.  Continue cooking until the vegetables soften, stirring 2 minutes longer.

Add the clam broth and set the fish fillets on top of the vegetables.  Season the fish with the paprika and pepper.  Cover and simmer until the fillets are opaque in the center (4 to 8 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillet).  Spoon the vegetable and fish onto warm dinner plates and serve.

*Arctic char, salmon, trout, rockfish, tautog, sea bass, cod, halibut, orange roughy, etc.

About the Fishmonger

Doris Hicks, Seafood Technology Specialist, This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

As seafood specialist, for the University of Delaware Sea Grant Marine Advisory Service, Hicks works with both the seafood industry and consumers to develop educational programs about the proper way to handle, store, and prepare finfish and shellfish.  In addition to these outreach efforts, Hicks serves as a seafood safety instructor, providing training programs to seafood processors throughout the region. She also has conducted research with University of Delaware colleagues to explore new technologies for pasteurizing seafood.  Hicks received her bachelor's degree in food science from Rutgers University and her master's degree in food science and human nutrition from the University of Delaware.