March 4 – March 10, 2024

 

Thursday:                 Girls Hope Cocktails and Dinner at PFC

Friday:                       Black Pepper Fish with Broccoli and Rice

Saturday:                  White Pizza with Spring Herb Cream / Salad

Sunday:                     Roast Chicken and Crispy Potatoes, Cole Slaw

Take a Break from Lenten Fish Frys

But first, a note about this blog.  It has occurred to me that you might not be interested in everything we cook each week.  Hell, I’m not interested in everything we cook each week.  So, I’m going to reduce the workload and just present the meals from the previous week that caused smiles, hurrahs and generally good reviews for yours truly.  I might even throw in a few illustrative photos to show the process involved in the cooking, if I think that would help.  Do you know how to cut up a whole chicken into eight pieces?  (Well stick with me.)

I’m hopeful that this new, shorter format, will appeal to all of you and that some new folks will actually comment on the blog.  Marj and Hilda and Patsy and Kathy have done their duty over the years.  But I need proof of life for the rest of you.  Commenting is simple – just go to the comment area, do what they tell you (create an on-line persona – I’d just use your first name), type in your comment and send it. 

Now, back to that fish. . . When I was a child, I looked forward to those Fridays when Mom had the time and the supplies to cook fish and not just bake off a couple packs of Mrs. Paul’s (there were five of us boys and Dad to feed).  Whether the fish was simply fresher then – the Catholic population of Pittsburgh got more attention from fishermen when all of us were required to eat fish on Fridays – or Mom just knew how to cook that fish (with a little butter, salt, pepper and paprika) perfectly, or whether I was just hungry and would have enjoyed anything – and I did enjoy those frozen fish sticks, too – I can’t honestly say.

But recently I found a way to cook fish fillets that mimic that magical flounder of an earlier, less expensive time.  Beez and I still have fish on most Fridays.  We’re not religious about it, but it connects us to our roots and we have learned many good ways to prepare it.  There is the always dependable and kind of fun, Salade Niçoise, the ubiquitous salmon which can be baked or sautéed, shrimp which can be sautéed, grilled, baked or boiled, and mussels and scallops, and so on.  But none of those quite capture the fish cookery of the Catholics of the 50s and 60s (who couldn’t have told you the difference between a scallop and a scallion).  They found a way to make what was supposed to be a purgatorial sacrifice seem like a taste of heaven.

Here’s how you can do that.

Black Pepper Fish with Butter Sauce

(adapted from bon appétit)

Timing:          15 minutes (plus time to thaw fish, if you’re using frozen*)

*Almost all the fish you buy has been frozen, then thawed.  Trader Joe’s sells frozen fish fillets which, when thawed, are excellent.  The fish in the average supermarket display case is often quite wet and you’ll need to take extra care to dry it.  If you can get to a great fishmonger, like Penn Avenue Fish Company in Pittsburgh, please do so.  You’ll spend some time and money, but you can balance that with a nice Niçoise salad next week.

Ingredients:                                        Serves 2

Two skinless flounder fillets.  This also works with tilapia or any other mild, flaky, white-fleshed fish.  If you’re using tilapia, which is a bit thicker than flounder, increase the cooking time by a minute or two.

2 teaspoons of black peppercorns, crushed

6 tablespoons of butter (we used 4, which is plenty)

½ teaspoon each of kosher salt and finely ground black pepper

Another ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

3 or 4 tablespoons of all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon of vegetable oil

The finely grated zest of 1 lemon and 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice (about ½ lemon)

Finely chop a few sprigs of parsley

Prep:

Crush the peppercorns using a mortar and pestle or put them in a plastic bag and use the bottom of a pan or skillet.

Portion out the butter.

Put the flour in a shallow bowl or on a plate.

Dry the fish fillets – if you’ve bought them at a supermarket, gentle press them to remove excess moisture – use a couple of paper towels and be patient.

Cook:

Heat the vegetable oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high – you need the heat to put a sear on the fish.

Season the fillets on both sides with ½ teaspoon each of kosher salt and finely ground pepper.  Then dredge them, one by one, in the flour until coated and shake off the excess.

Cook the fish until golden underneath, about 2 minutes for flounder, 3 or four for tilapia or thicker fillets.  Then, with a spatula, carefully turn the fish over and cook for a minute (two for the tilapia) on the other side.  Remove the fish to a plate.

Wipe out the skillet, reduce the heat to medium-low and add the crushed pepper and cook, swirling from time to time, until the butter foams and then browns (don’t let it burn) – about 6-8 minutes.

Off the heat, stir in the lemon zest, lemon juice and ¼ teaspoon of kosher salt.

Spoon some onto serving plates, top with the fish, spoon a bit more of the sauce and sprinkle with the parsley.

If you’ve cooked a pot of rice and a green salad to go with this, you will have done well.