Simple French :: Sole Meuniere

I've been wanting to make Sole Meuniere ever since reading Julia Child's "My Life in Paris" this summer.  But somehow, it's one of those recipes I looked up, and then set aside. ...What a mistake!  

I will warn you, you will become seriously addicted to slightly browned, lemoney butter 

and you'll never want to eat fish any other way.  

And the fact this only takes a few minutes to prepare, makes it the perfect dish.  I served it with slightly sauteed, garlicky greenbeans, and a side of crisp potatoes (boiled, then quickly pan fried with a bit of butter and plenty of kosher salt).  Weeknight dinners here at 337 will never be the same.

Enjoy!

SOLE MEUNIERE

Fillets of fresh Sole (I used lemon sole, you can also get grey sole, about 4 ounces/person)

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Kosher salt

Pepper

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Pat dry the fillets of fish.  Dust with salt and pepper.  Place the flour on a plate and dip the fillets in the flour.  Make sure they are evenly covered in flour.

In a non-stick pan over medium heat add half of the butter.  When the butter is bubbling, add the fish.  Allow it to cook about 3 minutes on each side, being careful when you flip over to not break up the fillet.  When the fish is cooked up both sides (slightly browned), remove from the pan and place on a tray.  Add the remaining butter to the pan with the chopped parsley, and lemon juice.  Quickly mix and add the butter-lemon sauce atop the fish.  Enjoy immediately.

How To :: Poach Salmon

I ♥ fish, but I confess that I shy away from cooking it on a daily basis because of the strong smell.   And I'm not one to shy away from food smells, but when you are in a small, open loft apartment, it's something you think twice about.  A. and I spend hours devising ways to keep my many food experiments from spreading to the whole apartment! 

So, when I read recently that poaching fish is virtually odorless, I was sold.  Plus, I enjoy the moist texture of poached fish fillets, and it's delicate, aromatic taste.  It's delicious (and healthy!) served warm with roasted vegetables, or topped with a rich sauce (this recipe with a caper butter sauce sounds delicious), or as part of a french Nicoise salad (instead of canned tuna).  

Traditionally, the fish is poached in a pot called a 'poissonierre' which is elongated to fit a large whole fish.  It contains a liftable tray (almost like a pasta pot) that easily separates the fish from the liquid.  Although it is a wonderful pot, you can poach fish in any sort of heavy skillet or dutch oven.

I got the most wonderful surprise last Friday when I got home and had this beautiful, new 5 qt dutch oven sitting atop my stove.  Can you believe it? It's like the kitchen fairy snuck in and left me goodies!  Well, no, it wasn't a fairy,  it was a wonderful gift from my parents to whom I've been endlessly telling (and they've patiently listened) about all of my kitchen obsessions.  Well, since last week, I've used it in all my cooking.  It's the perfect size (not to mention color!).  ...And perfect for this recipe.

You can poach many different fish, but, thicker, more solid fish works best, such as: salmon, cod, tuna, or monkfish. I used wild salmon fillets.  Poached salmon is usually seasoned with dill, but I used cilantro which I think goes wonderfully with fish.  To serve, I drizzled it with a bit of olive oil and fresh lemon.  Very simple.  It's a perfect weeknight meal... the best part: the leftovers will be delicious tomorrow over a salad!

Enjoy!

POACHED SALMON

4 - 4oz fillets of Wild Salmon (about 1" thick)

2 cups dry white wine

3 cups water

1 Lemon

2 Carrots, chopped

Fresh Cilantro, chopped

Salt & Pepper

1 tablespoon Strong mustard (such as Colmans or a Dijon)

Season the salmon fillets with the juice of 1/2 a lemon, salt & pepper, and a smear of mustard.

In a heavy skillet or dutch oven, over high heat, add the wine, water, juice of 1/2 a lemon along with the lemon rind, a bunch of chopped cilantro, chopped carrots, and salt & pepper to taste.

When the liquid boils, carefully add the salmon fillets.  Make sure the fish is fully submerged in the liquid.  Lower to medium-high heat and allow the liquid to continue to simmer.  Cook the fish for 3 minutes on one side and then flip over the fillets for another 3 minutes.  Be careful, this will cook very quickly.

Remove the fillets from the liquid and serve warm with a drizzle of olive oil and fresh cilantro, or allow the fish to cool and store in the fridge for cold salads.

*The seasonings to the wine/water can be changed to your tastes.  Try dill and shallots, or even add beetroot for added color and a bit of earthiness.

Happy Labor Day :: Spicy Fish Tacos w/Homemade Tortillas

The long weekend has come and gone...

We hosted three dinner parties this weekend - Friday, Saturday, & a lunch on Monday. Yes, 3! Can you believe it? Lots of cooking, but I can't imagine anything better to do on a weekend than hang out with A. e, and have dinner with our friends. :-) We also had a delicious lunch at Spice Market on Sunday and I found my new obsession: Vietnamese coffee! ...I guess condensed milk makes anything better.

After waking up at noon (yay for days off!) on Friday, I spent the afternoon wandering around Whole Foods in Tribeca thinking of menus for the weekend. I picked up lots of great ingredients: gruyere for croque monsiuers, oxtails for a beef stew, a Caribbean coconut sorbet for dessert, freshly ground honey roasted peanut butter (my favorite stand at whole foods), fresh tilapia, even short ribs. My favorite find? A giant orange bag of Mexican corn flour. Not sure what I would use it for, but I picked it up anyway.

Then I thought: homemade tortillas!

I love labor intensive foods, there's something so romantic and satisfying about a cooking process that have been around for so many generations... A. thought I was crazy to be spending an hour kneading dough, flattening it with a cast iron skillet (I need a tortilla press asap!), then a rolling pin, and patiently sitting by the stove on a hot day as each tortilla bubbled up and browned, when Whole Foods sells perfectly good tortillas ... but when he came home and saw the warm stack of fresh corn tortillas he said 'absolutely amazing!'. Told you so! :-)

So, that was the menu on Friday: Spicy Tilapia fish tacos with homemade tortillas!

 

TORTILLAS
2 cups corn masa
1 1/2 cups warm water with a dash of salt

Mix the corn masa with the salted water. Knead the dough until thoroughly mixed together to make a large ball.

Then make small golf ball sized rounds. As you are working through the dough, keep it covered with a damp towel to prevent drying. Flatten each small ball very thin either with a tortilla press or with a rolling pin and then cut into round shapes (click here for a step by step).

Heat an ungreased non-stick skillet on high. When the skillet in very hot add a tortilla, one at a time and cook for 30 seconds on each side. If the tortilla sticks, the skillet is not hot enough.

Serve the tortillas right away or keep covered for a couple of hours.

Now to the tacos...

TILAPIA TACOS w/ADOBE CHILE SAUCE
4 tilapia filets
juice of half a lime
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp fresh cilantro chopped, + additional leaves for garnish
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup sour cream
2 chipotle chiles in adobe sauce, canned (seeded)
1 ripe avocado, sliced
salt & pepper

Season tilapia fillets with lime, cilantro, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes.

In the meanwhile, make the spicy chipotle sauce. Combine the chiles and sour cream with a dash of salt in the food processor. Set aside.
In a nonstick skillet over medium high heat with a bit of olive oil, add the tilapia. When cooked, flip over until golden. Remove from heat.

To assemble the tacos: add a smear of the chipotle sauce to the fresh tortillas, plenty of tilapia, a couple of slices of avocado, and fresh cilantro. You can top each taco with a fresh salsa (recipe below) or serve on the side.

Enjoy!
SIMPLE PICADILLO SALSA
1 large tomato
1/2 white onion
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
2 tbsp white vinegar
juice of 1/2 a lime
1/2 of olive oil
Tabasco and salt (to taste)

Combine all ingredients and chill. Keeps in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.