Plaice with beurre noisette

Plaice cooked whole have more flavour than filleted plaice.  In this dish, the fish are cooked whole but it could be made with fillets.

The beurre noisette perfectly complements the light slightly fluffy plaice flesh.  For beurre noisette, the butter is cooked until it just starts to brown but it must not be as dark as beurre noir.  Lemon juice, parsley and capers are added to the butter.

Preparation Time: 10 Mins

Cooking Time: 8 Mins

Total Time: 20 Mins

Ingredients

For 2 servings…

1                    Plaice  - large, trimmed          

                     Flour        

25 gms            Butter       

For the sauce

50 gms            Butter       

1                    Lemon  - zest and juice of       

1 bunch           Parsley  - chopped    

1                    Shallot  - chopped    

10 gms            Capers      

To serve

1 bunch           Watercress

Method

Dust the plaice with flour.

In a large non-stick frying pan melt the butter.  Add the plaice and cook on a medium heat for one minute before turning the heat up.  Cook the fish for another minute and flip it over to cook on the other side for another minute.

Put the plaice on to a warm platter.

To make the sauce…

Melt the butter in another pan and cook it until it starts to foam.  Add the lemon zest and juice, parsley, shallot and capers.

To finish…

Spoon the beurre noisette over the fish.

Variations

Fillets can be used instead of the whole fish.

Wine recommendations

A slightly sharp white wine.

Conventional

     Mâcon

Interesting

     Côtes de Gascogne blanc

     Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Sur lie

     Pinot Gris