Well-dressed fish

WATER GRILL chef David LeFevre gently cooks California white sturgeon in an aromatic broth of white wine and herbs, then composes a piece of art on a plate -- with a delicate but flavorful celery salad, beets and creamy spinach. (In case you haven’t heard, officials say it’s safe to eat spinach again as long as it’s not from Monterey, San Benito or Santa Clara counties.)

Food editor Leslie Brenner raved about the luxurious, rich dish: “The sturgeon was tender and very moist. I loved the contrast of the delicate fresh fish against the intense beet and the sultry smoked sturgeon. The horseradish provided just the right punctuation mark.”

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Slow-poached sturgeon with celery and radish salad, roasted beets and creamed spinach

Total time: 3 hours

Servings: 4

Note: Smoked sturgeon can be found at Barney Greengrass and Surfas. Halibut can be substituted for the fresh sturgeon.

Chive oil

2 ounces chives

1/4 cup grapeseed oil

Salt to taste

Blanch the chives in salted water, shock them in ice water, then squeeze out the excess water and finely chop. In a blender, blend the chives with the grapeseed oil. Pass through a cheesecloth-lined strainer. Add salt to taste. Set aside.

Celery salad

1 tablespoon freshly grated horseradish

2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 cup olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup peeled thin diagonally sliced celery

8 celery leaves

1/4 cup smoked sturgeon, diced (about 1 1/2 ounces)

6 red radishes, cut into fine julienne strips

2 tablespoons mustard sprouts or microgreens

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the horseradish, lemon juice, olive oil, 1 teaspoon of salt and a pinch of pepper until completely emulsified.

2. In a clean small bowl, toss the celery, celery leaves, smoked sturgeon, radishes and sprouts or microgreens with enough horseradish vinaigrette to coat the leaves. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Horseradish sauce

1/4 cup white wine

1/3 cup minced shallots

1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup freshly grated horseradish

1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoons white wine vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

In a small saucepan, reduce the wine, shallots and garlic until the wine is almost completely evaporated. Add the cream and horseradish and cook, reducing by half. Add the olive oil and vinegar and whisk to blend . Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Roasted beets

2 medium red beets

1 tablespoon olive oil

Sprig thyme

Salt and pepper

Toss beets with olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper. Put the beets on a sheet of aluminum foil and fold to seal. Put the beet package on a sheet pan and roast at 400 degrees until fork tender, about 1 hour. Peel and cut beets into one-quarter-inch slices, then use a 1 3/4 -inch cutter to cut disks out of the slices. Use the scraps for the beet puree. Warm the slices in a hot oven or microwave oven just before serving.

Beet puree

3/4 cup chopped roasted beet scraps from roasted beets

2 tablespoons chicken stock

3/4 teaspoon red wine vinegar

1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Blend the beets and stock in a blender until smooth. Add the vinegar and olive oil to the blender while it is running. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Creamed spinach

12 cups fresh spinach leaves

1 tablespoon minced onion

1 clove garlic, minced

3/4 teaspoon butter

3/4 teaspoon flour

1/2 cup heavy cream

Pinch of nutmeg

Salt and white pepper to taste

Blanch, shock, squeeze dry and coarsely chop the spinach. In a saucepan over medium heat, sweat the onion and garlic in the butter until soft. Stir in the flour, cook and stir until the flour is blended into the butter. Add the cream and bring to a boil. Simmer until slightly thickened. Stir in the spinach. Season to taste with nutmeg, salt and white pepper.

Sturgeon and assembly

1/2 cup white wine

3 sprigs parsley

1 bay leaf

2 sprigs thyme

4 (6-ounce) fresh sturgeon fillets

Roasted beets

Creamed spinach

Horseradish sauce

Celery salad

Beet puree

Chive oil

1. In a medium skillet, heat 2 1/2 cups water, white wine, parsley, bay leaf and thyme sprigs until just under a simmer, 170 to 180 degrees. Slow-poach the sturgeon in two batches in the court bouillon until just cooked, 10 to 12 minutes.

2. For each serving, place two slices of beets on each plate, top each with a quarter of the creamed spinach, poached fish, horseradish sauce and celery salad. Drizzle each plate with beet puree and chive oil.

Each serving: 925 calories; 38 grams protein; 20 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams fiber; 78 grams fat; 22 grams saturated fat; 194 mg. cholesterol; 909 mg. sodium.