If you haven’t seen the GW Fins cookbook From The Deep End Of Flavor, just released last fall, let us tell you what a valuable resource and a beautiful book it is. Since its arrival on the scene, this restaurant has changed the dynamic of seafood eating in New Orleans in much the same way Mr. B’s did in the late 1970s.
Here was a daily fresh seafood option, the likes of which we’d never seen before. Seafood from all over the world, not just gulf waters. The collaboration of now-retired chef/owner Tenney Flynn and still-owner Gary Wollerman was magic. There is still a buzz about it over twenty years in.
They are still providing us fun even as they remain closed in this “situation”. Without even trying it (though we will) we can vouch for the recipe below.
SPECKLED SEA TROUT MEUNIÈRE
(Serves 2 as a main dish)
2 (5- to 6-ounce) speckled trout fillets or other fillets from a smallish fish (Alternatives are catfish, drum, or sole)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1⁄2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon olive or canola oil
3 tablespoons salted butter, plus more if needed, divided
1⁄2 lemon, juiced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Lightly season the fish fillets with salt and pepper and dust with the flour. Set a large sauté pan on medium heat.
When hot, add the oil then 1 tablespoon butter. If the butter is browning too quickly, remove the pan from the burner and wait a few seconds before adding the fish. (If it burns, dump it out, wipe out the pan, and start over.) Place the seasoned fillets skin side up (the flat side, if skinned) in the hot pan and cook undisturbed, for 3 to 4 minutes. With a spatula, lift a fillet to check for color. When they are golden brown, tilt the pan toward you so the oil drains to the bottom and turn the fillets away from you so you don’t splash oil onto yourself. Gently flip with spatula and cook, skin side down, for 2 or 3 minutes longer.
Remove the fillets to a heated plate. Reduce heat to medium and add the rest of the butter. Using a fork or whisk, scrape the crusted bits off the bottom of the pan while the butter is browning. (If the melted butter has blackened bits, dump it out, quickly wipe out the pan, and add fresh butter.) When the butter is medium brown (just past the color of light brown sugar), add the lemon juice and parsley, and other additions if desired.
Immediately pour over the fish fillets and serve.
OPTIONS TO ADD TO THE BROWNED BUTTER/LEMON JUICE MIXTURE 1⁄4 to 1⁄2 cup sliced almonds for classic Trout Amandine.
