John Dory with a Lemon Butter Sauce

[Larkin]

Lemon Butter Sauce for Fish

Ingredients Sauce:

1 X Cup Chardonnay Wine

1/2 X Cup Fresh Cream

1/4 block of cold Butter from the fridge cut into 1-2cm cubes 

1/2 Lemon cut into 3 wedges - take out any pips.

Salt & Pepper

Ingredients Fish:

John Dory, Snapper or similar fish fillet skin on and scaled

Galic Salt

Cracked Pepper

Dried Parsley Flakes

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Instructions:

Prepare the sauce first.

I just use a standard coffee cup rather than a measuring cup, 

add 1 X cup of Chardonnay wine to saucepan and bring to the boil. You want to keep boiling the wine to reduce it by at least half. Whisk it with a whisk every so often.

Once the wine has boiled off and reduced by at least half, add in 1/2 X cup of fresh cream. You want to again reduce this new wine/cream blend by at least half. Bring up to the boil and keep whisking - it will foam up. Take it on and off the heat to keep it at a point where it’s boiling/bubbling up but not over the edge. Keep consistently whisking through this process.

Half way through this reducing process, turn down the heat so it’s not boiling up and squeeze each lemon wedge into the saucepan of wine/cream mixture and after squeezing, drop the wedge into the mix too. Do this with all three wedges. 
Next add in salt and pepper to taste.

Put back onto the heat and keep whisking as the mixture reduces further - you will notice the bubbles start to change in consistency from thin bubbles to thick bubbles - make sure you’re constantly whisking. Once you see the sauce thicken up and bubbles look thick like a sauce, take the mix off the heat.

As soon as it comes off the heat, you want to start adding the cubes of butter a third at a time and DO NOT stop whisking - if you stop whisking you will ruin the sauce.  You want to emulsify the butter into the sauce by constantly whisking - next add the second and then third lots of butter constantly whisking the butter into the mix. Once all the butter has incorporated into the sauce it’s ready! Remove the lemon wedges and pour it off into a container or just a mug and it’s ready to serve on your fish.

It’s quite lemony, and complements fish perfectly. Can also be used with chicken or veggies too.

Goes perfect with a fresh fillet of skin on John Dory, Snapper or other similar fish.

Fish Preparation:

Pour a little extra virgin olive oil in a frying pan and bring up to a hot heat. Place the dory or snapper fillet in the pan skin side down. Pan to be hot so it sizzles but not so the oil is smoking.

Sprinkle top side of fish fillet with garlic salt, dried parsley flakes & cracked black pepper. I use gewurzhaus brand of garlic salt- can only get it online, it’s a blend of garlic, salt and some other ingredients that just add a delicious flavour to your fish. But you could just use any garlic salt from the supermarket. 
Cook on one side until it colours and skin crisps. Looking from the side you should see that it’s at least cooked half way through, then flip and cook on the second side. You only want to turn your fish once. Make sure it’s cooked through but don’t overcook so the fish stays moist. 

Take a spatula and flip it over onto the plate so it’s skin side down again. Drizzle with the lemon butter sauce. 

Add a side salad - I make a leafy salad mix with mixed salad green leafs, thin sliced onions, with either halved grapes, Nash pear or pomegranate (which ever you have handy), soft Greek feta and drizzle with a honey mustard vinaigrette dressing. (extra virgin Olive oil, white wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, Salt & Pepper)

Haven’t written a recipe before - hopefully everyone understands it. Enjoy!

 

Edited September 9, 2023 by Larkin

[Hoods]

Thank you Larkin, your recipe sounds easy to follow. Very  inspirational.

I think your photo is worthy of entry in the photography challenge heareabouts