Flounder Meunière

I was hoping to make Sole Meunière, but the supermarket decided otherwise. (Not only did they not have sole, they had no idea what it was). I substituted flounder, but if you can find sole, go for that instead. I found this classic recipe from Bon Appetit and I’m pretty sure I’ve made this recipe on many occasions and had no idea it had such a spiffy name. “Meunière” just means “miller’s wife.” So to cook something “a la meunière” means to cook it after first dredging it in flour. The sauce is really easy (and again, I’m pretty sure I’ve made it a million times before) and is made of brown butter, chopped parsley and lemon. Despite how easy the recipe is, this makes one tasty dish.

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces

2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian (flat leaf) parsley

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Lemon wedges

Pour flour into a shallow bowl. Rinse fish and pat dry with paper towels. Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper to taste.

Dredge fish on both sides with flour shaking off excess flour.

Heat olive oil in a saute pan big enough to fit all the fish. Add butter and swirl to coat. It should bubble up a bit. When it stops bubbling, add fish and cook until golden on bottom, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Turn fish over (carefully, it’s a pretty delicate fish), and cook until golden on bottom, about 1 to 2 minutes.

Place fish in tin foil and wrap loosely to keep warm.

Pour out excess drippings from the saute pan and wipe down with paper towels. Chop the parsley (as finely as you like).

Heat the saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the butter for the sauce and cook until it begins to brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in parsley and lemon juice. It may splatter a bit, so be prepared for that. Spoon over the fish and serve with lemon wedges.

Who doesn’t enjoy a recipe that takes 10 to 15 minutes, and only requires 8 ingredients (including salt, pepper, and olive oil)? On top of that, it really is tasty. The fish crisps up nicely in the butter which adds a nice texture. This would be good with a light salad or a side of rice.