Breton cotriade: poor French fisherman's delight

Breton cotriade is basically the same as Russian ukha: white sea fish stewed with potatoes and onions. In Russia most of time it is made of fresh water fish, while in Brittany, naturally, of the catch from the brine.

The only condiments being sea salt and coarsely ground pepper, this dish brings out the best of the flavour in fish. It is very simple yet exquisitely delicious.

The recipe couldn't be simpler:

1. Peel and cut potatoes, let them dry a bit (this way they will less likley crumble).
2. Peel and chop an onion.
   
3. (Skip this part for the Russian ukha!) Fry a few stripes of bacon in a pot. Add the onion and cook until soft.
   
4. Add cold water and put the potatoes (and raw onions for ukha), bring to boil, then add fish.
   
5. Keep skimming the froth that comes up to the surface.
   
6. Add salt and pepper to taste. This comes out even better when you use the heads of big fish.