Flounder, Piccatta Style

I'm torn each week when Walking Fish emails me a description of the week's fresh catch. I love the challenge of a new species, as it gives me an excuse to read up on them and decide how to prepare them. But I also love the old reliables, like clams and flounder, because they challenge me to find new ways to prepare them.

We receive flounder at least once a month. Shefali and I have eaten it grilled, oven baked, fried with chips, seasoned and sauteed, and even in po' boy sandwiches. This week, we substituted it for chicken in one of my family's favorite recipes.

Piccatta is traditionally prepared with veal and involves breading and frying the meat, removing it from the pan and building an accompanying sauce that features lemon and capers. Chicken is a very popular substitution for veal and my family's choice growing up (my mother refuses to cook or eat veal). We ate it over a bed of linguine.

When I prepared the flounder Piccatta style I chose not to pair it with pasta. A breaded and pan-fried meat holds its own in a subtle sauce, but when it's paired with pasta it often loosens up and kills the meat's texture. Cooks work so hard to achieve the golden, crunchy exterior that it's best enjoyed alongside some other starch. We paired ours with roasted potatoes and a salad.

Flounder, Piccatta Style

4 tbs olive oil

2 pounds flounder fillets

4 cloves garlic, diced 

3-4 tbs shallot, diced

a handful of fresh parsley, chopped

1/2 cup dry white wine. I use a sauvignon blanc

2 tsp capers, drained and rinsed

2 lemons, halved or quartered

flour for dusting

salt and pepper, to taste

1.  Heat the olive oil in a pan.

2. Season a plate of flour with salt and pepper, then dredge both sides of the fillets. Shake off the excess flour, then fry both sides in the oil, about 3 minutes each.

3. Remove the fillets and add the garlic. As soon as the garlic begins to brown add the shallot.

4. When the shallots become translucent (about 5 minutes), add the wine, juice from 1 lemon and capers. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to break up the loose bits. They add massive flavor to the sauce.

5. Let the wine simmer for about 5 minutes or until it no longer smells of alcohol, then return the fish to the pan and add the parsley. Let the flavors combine and flip the fish at least once.

6. Add extra lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste, then serve.