Fish gratin can be made with various seafood, cheese, and sauce options. It can be cooked from scratch or made with canned foods. Lemon juice is optional, and different herbs and seasonings can be used. Béchamel can be substituted with creamy canned soups. Different types of fish and cheeses can be used, and bread cubes or crumbs can be used as a topping.
The different types of fish gratins involve variations on the seafood, cheese, and sauce used in the dish. This baked fish dish with a crumb and cheese coating is highly adaptable to suit different tastes and budgets. Fish gratin can be cooked entirely from scratch and carefully seasoned with a variety of herbs or made from canned foods with very little added flavoring.
While many cooks add lemon juice to fish gratin dishes, others don’t. Typically, however, fish gratins made with white sauces have some lemony flavoring, while tomato-based versions can leave it out. Sliced tomatoes and tomato sauce can be combined in a greased dish along with seafood before adding crumble mixture. There are many different seasoning options from Italian herbs to just salt and pepper. In a creamy type of fish gratin, the fillets or other seafood may be lightly seasoned and cooked to a crumb crust before being drizzled with a rich white sauce before serving.
Cream, egg yolks and butter form the béchamel. In off-the-shelf versions of fish gratins, creamy canned soups such as mushrooms or celery are often substituted for béchamel ingredients. Since the soups are already seasoned, cooks can simply add pepper or perhaps some dried herbs to create the quick sauce. Fresh dill or other herbs can be used to cook gratins from scratch, but care must be taken not to overwhelm the taste of the fish.
Several types of fish are used to make seafood au gratin, such as cod, haddock, and orange roughy. Some seafood gratin recipes also call for shellfish such as shrimp, prawns or crab. Smoked fish is also used in some seafood gratin recipes along with white fish fillets.
Various cheeses are used in different types of fish gratins. Parmesan is a popular option, but Swiss, Emmentaler and other strong-flavored cheeses can be mixed with bread crumbs to form a fish gratin topping. Many types of fish gratin use only one type of grated cheese, but sometimes cheeses are combined with this dish as well.
Bread cubes rather than crumbs are used by some cooks as a gratin topping to blend with cheese. Larger cubes may be preferred as they can give extra appeal to the fish gratin. Usually, however, fine bread crumbs are preferred, as they tend to result in a firmer, more uniform crust.
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