Fish Pinwheels and Mushroom Sauce










Fish Pinwheels:
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh mushrooms
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped celery
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup herb-seasoned stuffing mix
• 2 tablespoons hot water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground sage
• 4 northern pike or other lean fish fillet about ¼” thick, 12 to 15” long, skin removed
• 1 tablespoon butter
Mushroom Sauce

Method:
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 8 x 4-inch loaf pan. In small skillet, cook and stir mushrooms, celery, and onion in butter over medium heat until tender, about 4 minutes. Remove skillet from heat. Add stuffing mix, hot water, salt. Pepper, and sage to vegetables. Stir until mixture is moistened.

Spread one-fourth of the stuffing mixture evenly on each fillet, pressing lightly. Roll up fillets, starting with the narrow end. Place rolls upright in prepared pan, arranging in staggered pattern. Brush with 1 tablespoon melted butter. Cover pan with foil. Bake until fish in center of roll flakes easily, about 30 minutes.

Prepare Mushroom Sauce and serve with fish.

Notes:
I made this recipe in the trailer while camped at Fall Lake Campground outside Ely, MN. Cooking on a small gas stove and baking in a tiny stove added to the challenge. I went to town for flour and bought 5 pounds as the Mushroom Sauce called for one tablespoon. I bought a carton of sour cream and Jill discovered some in the refrigerator after dinner. Well, at least mushrooms were on sale!

I used 4 fresh walleye filets caught that day on Shagawa Lake. The fillets were thicker and shorter than the recipe calls for and my plate appearance suffered as a result. Also, the whole fillets have a small row of pin bones that I usually “zip out” so we had to eat carefully and watch for a couple small bones.

As I typed-up this recipe, I realized that the stuffing mix was supposed to be measured and added as a dry ingredient. Coming out of the oven, I thought there was a lot of moisture in the pan.

Mushroom Sauce:
• 2 cups chopped fresh mushrooms
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon white wine

In a small sauce pan, cook and stir mushrooms and onion in butter over medium heat until onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in flour, salt, and pepper. Blend in milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in sour cream, mustard, and wine.