February 20, 2014 Dinner – New Recipe - Filet of Halibut Meunière with steamed broccoli and tomato couscous

February 20, 2014 Dinner – New Recipe - Filet of Halibut Meunière with steamed broccoli and tomato couscous

I did not work very hard today because I wanted to see the Olympic women’s final of ice hockey, although I finalized a divorce and prepared and assisted in the signing of an LOI for a client.

Yesterday I had bought a fresh halibut filet (Sprouts $12.99/lb.) that was from Mexico and was very flat, almost like a thick dover sole filet, so I decided to make Halibut Meunière.  I decided to steam the broccoli I had bought at Pro’s Ranch Market last week ($.69/lb.).  I was not sure what kind of starch to make so I waited until Suzette arrived home at around 7:45 p.m. because she is lacking a Spa receptionist/attendant and had to stay to close the Spa today at 7:00.

So I rested and watched the news.  When Suzette arrived she did not wish to cook and was happy to let me cook dinner.  I was rested and had a game plan except for the starch.   We discussed the various choices and when I said, “What about tomato couscous,” Suzette readily agreed.  

I love meunière sauce on a flat fish.  I make it with lemon, capers, parsley and the browned butter that the fish is cooked in.  Tonight I made the dish by first slicing about ¼ of a medium onion into thin slices and sautéing it in butter while I steamed the broccoli flowerets.  I started 1 ½ cup of water and 1 tbsp. of butter boiling in a pot and add one chopped medium tomato to the water.  When the water came to a boil I added 1 cup of couscous and reduced the heat and covered the pot, so it would steam and not burn.

I told Suzette, “I wish we had some parsley.”  She answered, “We do, in the garden” and she went to pluck about four sprigs from the garden, which I chopped finely.

I then got two pasta bowls and put one egg with some white pepper and salt into one bowl and stirred it to break up the egg and put panko into the other pasta bowl.  I then floured the filet on both sides and then dipped it into the egg and then coated it with panko and placed it into the skillet with the butter and onions.

After a couple of minutes, I added the juice of ¾ lemon and 2 tsps. drained capers.  I then turned the filet and placed the parsley on top of the filet, so it would serve as a both a flavoring and a garnish.

I then ran to the basement and fetched a bottle of 2012 Dashwood Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, New Zealand and put it on the table.  I set the table with our French tablecloth and silverware and wine glasses and Suzette fetched napkins and we were ready to plate up.  In another couple of minutes the fish was done and the butter had turned a dark brown and the capers heated thoroughly. 

I cut the filet from stomach to tail along its natural division and put one side of the filet on each plate.  We each served ourselves broccoli and couscous and I poured the wine and cut another lemon in half and we each squeezed lemon juice onto our filets.  Although the wine had a very strong grapefruit citrus taste it was delicious with the fish and food.  Unfortunately, when we sipped it after finishing the food it became apparent that it had a high amount of residual tannin that produced a bitter aftertaste.  I will not buy it again.  I almost chose a Sancerre and that would have been a better choice at twice the price.

Here is the basic recipe for the dish from Wilipedia.  sole meunière is a classic French dish consisting of sole, whole or fillet, that is dredged in milk and flour, fried in butter and served with the resulting brown butter sauce and lemon. Sole has a light but moist texture when cooked and has a mild flavour. Since sole is a flatfish, a single fish will yield four fillets rather than the two fillets that a roundfish will produce. When preparing sole meunière, a true Dover sole is preferred. In classic service, the whole sole is sautéed tableside and boned by the server.

As you can see I opted for a standard schnitzel coating of flour, egg and bread crumbs to give the fish a thicker crunchier coating.  I also made the sauce more like a traditional piccata sauce by adding parsley and capers.  I considered adding garlic but thought that would move it too far toward the Italian piccata sauce and lose some of its more restrained elegantly French saveur.

Bon Appétit