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French · Brittany

Cotriade

Cotriade is Brittany’s founding fish stew — the Breton fisherman’s one-pot meal that historically used the unsaleable portion of each day’s catch, simmered with potatoes in a cauldron (kaoter in Breton) on the boat or the quayside. Unlike bouillabaisse with its saffron-tomato-garlic identity, cotriade is deliberately austere: the sea provides the flavor, and the cook’s only job is not to interfere. The base begins with thinly sliced onions and a bouquet garni (thyme, bay, parsley) softened in salted butter (always salted in Brittany) in the bottom of a deep pot. Potatoes, peeled and sliced 1cm thick, are layered over the onions. Water or a light fish stock is added to just cover, brought to a simmer, and cooked for 15 minutes until the potatoes are nearly done. The fish is then added in sequence based on density: firm-fleshed species (conger eel, monkfish, gurnard) first, followed 5 minutes later by medium fish (pollack, whiting, mackerel), and delicate fish (sardines, small sole) for just the final 3-4 minutes. The poaching temperature must remain at 78-82°C — the fish should set gently, not boil apart. The cotriade is served in two acts: the broth first, ladled over thick slices of stale bread rubbed with garlic in deep bowls; then the fish and potatoes on a separate platter. A sauce of the broth’s stock sharpened with cider vinegar and chopped sorrel (or a vinaigrette) accompanies the fish. The dish demands whatever is freshest that day — prescribing specific species misses the point. Authenticity lies in the method, not the ingredients list.

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ServesFour portions
Sourced1of 14 in BC
Cook
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I

The Market List

The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.

2
onions
thinly sliced
Your own market
800 g
potatoes
peeled, sliced 1 cm thick
Origin · FranceLekker · Vancouver →
50 g
salted butter (Breton)
Your own market
1
bouquet garni
thyme, bay, parsley
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Fish — firm-fleshed (first into the pot)
400 g
conger eel
cut into sections
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
300 g
monkfish or gurnard
trimmed, cut into portions
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Fish — medium-fleshed (added 5 minutes later)
300 g
pollack, whiting, or mackerel
cleaned, cut into portions
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Fish — delicate (final 3–4 minutes)
200 g
sardines or small sole
whole or filleted
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
For the broth course
4 slices
stale pain de campagne
dense, day-old, rubbed with garlic
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
1
garlic clove
halved, for rubbing
Your own market
For the sorrel sauce
1 small handful
sorrel
finely chopped
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
2 tbsp
cider vinegar
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
4 tbsp
broth from the pot
ladled out once fish is cooked
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
1–1.2 litres
water or light fish stock
enough to just cover the potatoes
Not yet stocked in British Columbia

Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.

II

The Method

1
Melt the salted butter in a deep, heavy pot over a medium flame. Add the thinly sliced onions and the bouquet garni. Soften without colouring until the onions are fully translucent and yielding — they should offer no resistance when pressed against the side of the pot.
2
Layer the sliced potatoes over the onions. Pour over water or light fish stock to just cover. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 15 minutes. The potatoes are ready for the next stage when a knife meets slight resistance at the centre — they must not be fully cooked, only nearly so.
3
Reduce the heat until the surface of the liquid trembles but does not boil; the target is 78–82°C. This step is where the dish lives or dies: a rolling boil will shatter the flesh, cloud the broth, and destroy the quiet clarity that defines cotriade. Lower the firm-fleshed fish — conger eel first for its gelatin, then monkfish or gurnard — into the liquid. Maintain the temperature with vigilance for 5 minutes. The broth should smell clean and oceanic, with the faint sweetness of the eel's gelatin beginning to enrich it.
4
Add the medium-fleshed fish (pollack, whiting, mackerel). Continue at the same sub-boil temperature for 5 minutes. The flesh should begin to turn opaque from the outside inward, just visible at the thickest point.
5
Add the delicate fish — sardines or small sole — for the final 3–4 minutes. They are done when the flesh has just lost its translucency and separates along its natural flake when pressed very gently with a fingertip.
6
Ladle several spoonfuls of hot broth into a small bowl. Stir in the cider vinegar and the finely chopped sorrel to make the accompanying sauce; it should be sharp enough to cut across the richness of the broth — taste and adjust the vinegar accordingly.
7
Rub the stale pain de campagne with the cut garlic clove and place one slice in each deep bowl. Ladle the broth generously over the bread and serve immediately as the first act. Then transfer the fish and potatoes to a separate warmed platter and bring to the table alongside the sorrel-vinegar sauce.
From the canon — Pain de campagne (‘country bread’) is the archetypal rustic French loaf: a large, round or oval sourdough with a thick, dark, crackling crust and a moist, sl… Pain de Campagne →
III

Quality Hierarchy

01
Reserve — Three or more species sourced dockside the same morning, conger eel among them; Breton salted butter from a named creamery; pain de campagne baked that day and held overnight; fresh sorrel from the garden.
02
Estate — A fishmonger's freshest mixed assortment of the day, at minimum three species across the three density groups; good Breton salted butter; dense sourdough a day old; fresh sorrel.
03
Market — Whatever mixed, fresh sea fish is available — firmness the primary criterion for sequencing; standard salted butter; any robust, close-crumbed bread at least a day old; sorrel or a sharp vinaigrette in its place.
04
House — A single firm-fleshed species alone is insufficient and defeats the method; olive oil in place of butter misrepresents the dish; a complex pre-made fumet base adds nothing and obscures the fish itself.
IV

Sensory Tests

◇Sight. Onions are fully translucent with no trace of colour before the potatoes are added.
◇Touch. Potatoes resist a knife at the centre after 15 minutes — nearly cooked, not fully tender.
◇Sight. The liquid surface trembles with a lazy shiver; no bubbles break — temperature is within the 78–82°C poaching range.
◇Smell. The broth smells clean and oceanic, with the faint sweetness of conger gelatin, at no point sharp or sulphurous.
◇Touch. Delicate fish yields along its natural flake under the lightest fingertip pressure — it is set, not raw, not collapsed.
◇Where it lives or dies. The poaching temperature must hold between 78 and 82°C throughout: a boil disperses the flesh, muddies the broth, and erases the restrained sea-flavour that is the dish's entire identity.
Pillar V
Cross-cuisine parallels are part of membership.
The dishes this one teaches you, across the cuisines — on every recipe.
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VI

What to Pour

The pairing
Mugnier Musigny Grand Cru
Domaine J.-F. Mugnier · Chambolle-Musigny
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Wine
From British Columbia
Fort Berens Riesling
Fort Berens Estate Winery · Lillooet
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Wine
Without alcohol
GT's Synergy Organic Kombucha — Gingerade
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Non-alcoholic

Why each one works is part of membership — Enter · from $49 a year →

The whole pairing
Pillar VII
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
Enter · from $49 a year
Sourced through Provenance

The hands behind the plate.

Lekker
Vancouver · potatoes
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