Flounder Meunière with Onion-Walnut Relish | Everyday Dorie

Le meunière is “the miller’s wife” in French. It’s a classic technique of sautèing fish fillets in melted butter until a nutty brown, then finish it with fresh lemon and parsley. Dorie’s version is “almost classic” when she adds an onion-walnut relish. More about the relish later.

My version is “nearly classic.” Whereas the classic is certainly involved dredging the fish in flour, I substitute Wondra for flour. Although Wondra may not always be the best substitution for flour, especially when making a roux, I started using it in coating fish with good effect several years ago. It’s a method I learned from Chef Eric Ripert. He uses it at Le Bernardin (the three-Michelin-star seafood restaurant in New York City) for cooking fish, from monkfish to sea bass to soft-shelled crab. I’ve never turned back. My goto has been Wondra which I count on for reliable results in getting crispy skin on my fish. The secret to a crispy fish is out.

The advantage for Wondra is that it’s a super fine, extra dry, very light powder and never lumpy when mixed.

The flatfish family, including sole, halibut and flounder can be more or less prepared in the “meunière” method. I mostly use sole and halibut rather than flounder, because flounder is a bit more delicate to handle. Nonetheless, pan-cooked fillets of any flatfish are quick, simple and elegant. Like what Dorie says: the technique can be easily mastered. And we should.

Speaking about being delicate and deliberate in cooking fish, one quote in this recipe stands out. Dorie reminds us: “You need to let the butter brown and then toss in little pieces of cold butter to keep it all from getting too dark.” An extra credit for this sound chef-y advice.

Here comes the easy, as well as the tasty, part of finishing (or supercharging) the dish: the onion-walnut relish. Nothing more involved than mixing and tossing together a cast of ingredients:

• toasted chopped walnut
• toasted small cubes of baguette or country loaf
• anchovies
• grated zest and juice of a lemon
• diced red onion or shallot
• salt and pepper to taste

I thought about skipping this step; I’m glad I didn’t.

Print Recipe

Flounder Meunière with Brown Butter and Lemon

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour or 1/2 cup Wondra
• Salt and pepper
• Pinch of cayenne
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 flounder fillets of equal size, 6 to 8 ounces each
• 3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons roughly chopped parsley
• 1 teaspoon roughly chopped tarragon (optional)
• A few parsley or tarragon leaves, for garnish
• Lemon wedges

Instructions

1

Put flour in a low bowl or pie plate and stir in a generous amount of salt and pepper and a pinch of cayenne.

2

Place a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and tilt pan to coat bottom.

3

Season the fillets lightly with salt and pepper. Dip each fillet quickly into flour mixture, shaking off excess flour.

4

Lay fillets in skillet in one layer. Cook for about 2 minutes per side, until golden. Transfer cooked fish to a warm platter.

5

Leave the heat at medium-high and add cold butter. Let butter sizzle until foamy and brown, but do not let it burn. Add lemon juice, parsley and chopped tarragon and swirl to incorporate.

6

Spoon butter sauce over fish. Garnish with a few tarragon leaves and serve immediately with lemon wedges.

Notes

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1019589-flounder-with-brown-butter-lemon-and-tarragon