After the events of the Wind Waker in the adult timeline, the former kingdom of Hyrule was washed away beneath the seas. Link and Tetra set out to find a new continent and establish a new kingdom. They eventually did, and over time New Hyrule was established.
In this locomotive driven kingdom, there was a new Hyrule Castle, once again surrounded by a Castle Town. In this Castle Town lived a resident by the name of Lucia. She needed link to travel to Papuchia Village and get her fish from the fish monger Niboshi. Once she obtained the fish from Link, what was she going to do? She was going to make a fish casserole!
This is my interpretation of Lucia's Fish Casserole from Spirit Tracks. The fish from Papuchia Village seem to resemble Blue Fish, which are similar to Mackerel. This didn't seem well suited to a fish casserole, so we are going to assume the Blue Fish of Papuchia are closer to white fish. Any white fish, or even salmon, would work well in this casserole. Though we are not given much limitation on what the vegetables of New Hyrule could be, I chose to stick with the traditional carrots and mushrooms. What Hyrulean dish would be complete without some Hylian Rice? For this recipe, I went with wild rice to add a nice nuttiness to the flavor profile. The whole casserole comes together with a mildly cheesy sauce accented with Zora spice. (I know Zoras aren't around in this era, but the spice blend just works.)
The result is a mild, flavorful, and creamy fish casserole. If this is indeed what Lucia had in mind, I hope she sent Link away with a portion for himself as thanks!
Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp butter, divided
1 medium onion, diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
3 carrots, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
7 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced
3 cups wild rice
1½ lbs skinless white fish filets (such as cod, tilapia, snapper, etc.) or salmon
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup half and half
1 cup shredded gruyere cheese
1 tbsp Zora Spice
½ tsp salt, plus more for fish
¼ tsp black pepper, plus more for fish
¾ cup panko breadcrumbs
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
¼ cup parsley, chopped
Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp butter, divided
1 medium onion, diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
3 carrots, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
7 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced
3 cups wild rice
1½ lbs skinless white fish filets (such as cod, tilapia, snapper, etc.) or salmon
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup half and half
1 cup shredded gruyere cheese
1 tbsp Zora Spice
½ tsp salt, plus more for fish
¼ tsp black pepper, plus more for fish
¾ cup panko breadcrumbs
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
¼ cup parsley, chopped
Make the wild rice ahead of time according to the packaging or using a rice cooker. In order to get 3 cups of cooked wild rice, I recommending cooking 2 cups of dry wild rice. If you are using a rice cooker, you can use the brown rice setting to cook the rice.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
To prepare the fish, first season the filets generously with salt and pepper on both sides. Cut the filets into chunks about 1 to 1½ inches in size. Set the fish chunks aside for now.
Set a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add 1 tbsp of olive oil and 1 tbsp of butter. Once the butter has melted, add the onions, carrots, and celery. Cook the vegetables for 5 to 10 minutes, until the have softened, stirring as needed. Add the garlic, stir, and cook for one minute.
Add the mushrooms to the Dutch oven, along with ½ tsp of salt and ¼ tsp of black pepper. Stir the contents together, and allow the mushrooms to cook for about 3 to 5 minutes, until they have softened.
Add the flour and stir to fully incorporate it into the vegetables. Allow the flour coated vegetables to cook for 2 minutes. After the flour has cooked, add the chicken stock and the half and half. Stir well to combine and to incorporate the flour completely into the liquid. It will begin to thicken into a sauce. Add the Zora spice and stir to completely blend it into the thickening sauce.
Reduce the heat to low and allow it to simmer and thicken for about 3 to 5 minutes. Once it has thickened, add in the gruyere cheese. Stir and fully melt the cheese into the sauce. Allow the sauce to cook for an additional 3 minutes to fully thicken.
Once the sauce has fully thickened, add in the fish chunks. Stir to mix them into the sauce and vegetables. Now add the rice, and stir until the rice is blended fairly evenly throughout the sauce, fish, and vegetables. Remove the Dutch oven from the heat.
Lightly grease a 9 x 13 casserole pan. Carefully transfer the casserole mixture into the pan, and ensure it is evenly level within the pan. Place the pan in the oven and allow it to bake for about 18 to 22 minutes, until the fish is fully cooked and the sauce is bubbly.
While the casserole is baking in the oven, add the breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese to a bowl. Melt the remaining 2 tbsp of butter in a microwave safe dish for about 20-25 seconds. Add the melted butter to the breadcrumb and cheese mixture and stir well to coat all of the mixture in the melted butter.
When the casserole has finished cooking, remove the pan from the oven. Sprinkle the top of the casserole evenly with the breadcrumb mixture. Switch your oven to broil, and place the casserole back into the oven. Allow the casserole to broil on high for 3-5 minutes, until the breadcrumbs have browned.
Remove the casserole from the oven, garnish it with chopped parsley, and allow it to cool and set for about 10-15 minutes before serving. Enjoy!