Flounder Piccata with Haricots Verts and Mushrooms
- Level: Intermediate
- Yield: 2 servings
-
- Nutritional Analysis
- Per Serving
- Serving Size
- 1 of 2 servings
- Calories
- 733
- Total Fat
- 36
- Saturated Fat
- 17
- Carbohydrates
- 67
- Dietary Fiber
- 7
- Sugar
- 9
- Protein
- 33
- Cholesterol
- 139
- Sodium
- 1298
- Total: 1 hr 5 min
- Active: 1 hr 5 min
Ingredients
Kosher salt
8 ounces haricots verts, trimmed
Extra-virgin olive oil, for cooking
1 shallot, finely diced (brunoise)
4 cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup all-purpose flour
Two 6-ounce flounder (or other flatfish) fillets, skin removed
1/4 cup white wine
1 lemon, cut into supremes (segments cut free from pith) and finely chopped (see Cook's Note), plus the zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon drained capers
1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) butter, cut into tablespoon-size pats
1/2 cup chicken stock, plus more as needed
Parsley leaves from 6 fresh stems, finely chopped, plus additional for garnish
Directions
- Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Make an ice bath with salted water.
- Blanch the haricots verts in the boiling water until tender but still crisp, 3 to 4 minutes. Immediately shock in the ice bath to stop cooking. Drain the excess water and set aside on a sheet tray.
- Coat a small saute pan with olive oil and add 1 tablespoon of the shallots and some salt (save the remaining shallots for the sauce). Sweat over medium heat until softened and translucent, about 1 minute, then add the mushrooms. Stir and cook until the mushrooms start to soften, 2 minutes more. Add a pinch of salt and the crushed red pepper flakes and continue cooking until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the haricots verts to the pan and toss to coat. Taste for seasoning and set aside.
- Put the flour in a shallow dish. Coat a large skillet with olive oil and heat over medium-high until the skillet is hot. Sprinkle both sides of the fish with salt and dredge in the flour. Gently shake off the excess flour and lay the fish skin-side down in the oil. Cook until the outside edges of the first side turn white and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes, then flip and cook until the fish turns white and opaque, 1 minute more. Remove the fish from the skillet and set aside on plates or a platter.
- Use a paper towel to carefully wipe out the skillet used to cook the fish. Lower the heat to medium and lightly coat with olive oil. Add the remaining diced shallot with a pinch of salt and sweat until the shallots soften, about 30 seconds. Add the white wine and chopped lemon supremes and cook, stirring often, until it comes to a boil. Add the capers, lemon juice and lemon zest and simmer until the liquid is reduced by half. Add the chicken stock and a pinch of salt and continue to reduce at a simmer by half.
- Add a pat of butter and cook, swirling the pan, until melted, then add another pat. As the butter melts, swirl the pan to fully incorporate. Continue adding butter, one pat at a time, until the sauce is thickened. (You should need between 3 and 4 pats total.) If the sauce reduces too much, adjust with a small splash of chicken stock to thin it out. Season to taste with salt and stir in the parsley.
- Arrange the haricots verts and mushrooms next to the fish on plates. Top the fish with the sauce and garnish with a sprinkle of fresh parsley.
Cook’s Note
To cut supremes, peel and segment the lemon with a paring knife, separating the fruit from the membranes.