Arctic Char with Horseradish Sauce ('Saibling mit Meerrettichsoße')

Preheat your oven to 390 °F (200 °C).

Prepare the horseradish sauce:

Melt the butter in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour once the butter has melted and sweat the butter-flour mixture ('roux') over medium-low heat for 3-4 minutes until the flour smells slightly nutty but is still pale in color.

Whisk in your milk and fish stock, bit by bit to prevent the sauce from turning lumpy. Add the thyme sprigs and bay leaf to your sauce and bring it up to a boil. Reduce the heat to the lowest setting and let the sauce simmer, uncovered, over the lowest possible heat for about 15 minutes to cook out the raw flour taste.

If the sauce has reduced too much, add some more water or stock. If it is still too thin after 15 minutes, continue reducing it further. Once the sauce has its desired consistency, whisk in the horseradish and salt to taste. Don't add all the horseradish at once. Taste and adjust the amount that goes into your sauce depending on your preference.

Strain the finished sauce through a fine-mesh sieve to remove the thyme sprigs and bay leaf as well as any remaining lumps. Keep warm.

Prepare the fish:

With a sharp paring knife, score the skin of the char on both sides, 3-4 times on each side, about 1/2-inch deep. Season the char to taste with salt on the outside and inside the cavity. Rub the olive oil all over the char and stuff the cavity with the lemon slices, savory sprigs, and ginger slices. Wrap the fish in aluminum foil and seal tightly.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20-30 minutes or until cooked through. The char is done once the dorsal fin on the back of the fish can easily be pulled out and the meat flakes easily off the bone.

To serve, separate the meat from the bones and spoon a generous amount of sauce on top. Serve together with boiled new potatoes to soak up the excess sauce.