After the elaborate Thanksgiving feast, some light fish main courses are most welcome. Here are a couple of winners.
SOLE IN BROWNED BUTTER AND CAPERS
This is a classically French treatment for sole or any other flatfish. Serve it with roasted red-skinned potatoes and steamed broccoli or a broccoli-cauliflower combination.
Makes 4 servings
1 cup milk
½ cup flour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1¼ to 1½ pounds sole, flounder or other flat white fish fillets
5 tablespoons butter, divided
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon drained capers
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
4 lemon wedges
Pour milk into 1 shallow dish and put flour in another dish or plate. Season the flour with salt and pepper. Soak the fish in the milk for about 5 minutes, then dredge in seasoned flour to coat both sides, shaking off the excess.
Heat 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet. Sauté the fish over medium-high heat, turning once, until golden brown on both sides and cooked through, about 5 minutes total. Transfer to a platter.
Add the remaining 2 tablespoons butter to pan and cook, stirring, over medium heat, until the butter is nutty brown and fragrant. Stir in lemon juice and capers. To serve, spoon sauce over fish, sprinkle with parsley, and garnish with lemon wedges.
SHRIMP ESPANOL
Ingredients that are typically Spanish – oranges or other citrus, olive oil, garlic, sherry and olives – add pleasantly intense flavor to this quick yet elegant shrimp sauté. Rice pilaf studded with toasted almonds, baby peas and roasted red pepper makes for an ideal accompaniment.
Makes 4 servings
4 clementines or 2 large seedless oranges
¼ cup olive oil
1¼ pounds peeled and deveined extra-large shrimp
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
¼ teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
1/3 cup dry sherry
2 tablespoons sherry wine vinegar or red wine vinegar
1/3 cup sliced or chopped pitted Kalamata or other imported black olives
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Squeeze ¼ cup juice from 1 or 2 of the clementines. Peel and section the remaining fruit.
Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the shrimp, garlic and pepper flakes and cook over medium heat until the shrimp just begin to turn pink, about 2 minutes. Add clementine segments and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add sherry, vinegar and clementine juice and simmer, stirring often, for 2 minutes. Stir in olives and parsley and season to taste with salt and lots of pepper. Spoon onto warmed plates to serve.
Brooke Dojny is author or co-author of more than a dozen cookbooks, most recently “Chowderland: Hearty Soups & Stews with Sides and Salads to Match.” She lives on the Blue Hill peninsula, and can be contacted via Facebook at:
facebook.com/brookedojny
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