“Take it for a swim? Even though it’s dead?” you may ask.

Mais oui, mes amis, that’s exactly right! All you have to do is cook your fish à la nage.* Translated literally, it means something like “in the swim,” which makes next to no sense in English, so let’s call it “swimming style.” To put it another way, we might describe it as poached. But “poached” doesn’t fully get at the idea behind an à la nage preparation. Way back in the day, the term referred to a specific way of cooking shellfish in a court bouillon, a light broth acidified with white wine or lemon juice. In more recent times, it’s loosened to include any kind of fish cooked in a light broth with vegetables, herbs, and other aromatic ingredients, then served with that broth and those vegetables.

*Rhymes with garage.

I love it for a few reasons. First, it’s an incredibly easy way to prepare fish, since you can do it all in one pan and then serve it directly from there. It’s quick, too—just whip up a broth that’s infused with whatever ingredients you’ve decided to include, add the fish, and poach it, covered, until just cooked through. It’s perfect in the summer, when lighter dishes appeal more than gut-busters. And while I’ve never been bothered by the smell of a fish roasting in my home, I know some folks can be sensitive to that; those of you who are may be interested to know that this gentle poaching in a closed pan leads to absolutely minimal fish smell lingering in your kitchen later. Finally, it’s a preparation that’s open to endless variation.

Because the fish is only partially submerged, this cooking method offers the benefits of both steaming and poaching. Poaching is a gentle cooking method, but steaming is even gentler; the portion of the fish above the liquid level cooks more slowly, making the method that much more foolproof. Meanwhile, because it’s half submerged, the fish still manages to flavor—and, to some degree, be flavored by—the poaching liquid below.