Sunday, April 14, 2013

Sole-Wrapped Asparagus with Orange Beurre Blanc

My mouth has just enjoyed several blissful moments of utter enjoyment eating this delicious fish wrapped in asparagus. Probably now one of my favorite foods ever.  Truthfully, it's mostly the Beurre Bland (butter sauce with orange) that is so amazing. Fish and asparagus are just the added bonus.

We felt very posh eating this meal even though it stemmed from me looking for the cheapest fish at the counter ($2.60 for 3 pieces of fish. We have also tried Cod-good too).   The nice fish market woman tipped me off to wrapping the fish around asparagus and baking in the oven.  Then I found the butter sauce. It was extremely easy and delicious. We had roasted potatoes and a green salad with it to top it off. 

Anyway, it was happiness in my mouth, so I highly recommend this recipe!

Sole-Wrapped Asparagus with Orange Beurre Blanc

For fish (all I did was salt and pepper the fish. Skipped all the rest of these steps, though I'm sure they would be fabulous).
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons chopped shallot
4 (2- by 1-inch) strips fresh tangerine zest
1 lb medium asparagus
4 (5- to 6-oz) skinless gray sole or flounder fillets
1/2 cup water

For beurre blanc
1/2 cup fresh tangerine juice (substituted orange juice)
1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot (substituted 1 clove garlic)
1 stick (1/2 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon pieces
1/4 teaspoon salt
cayenne
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Preparation

Prepare fish:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 450°F.

Brush a 13- by 9-inch roasting pan with some of melted butter, then sprinkle shallot and zest in pan.

Trim asparagus to about 7 inches long, then peel spears starting from 2 inches below tip of each.

Arrange fish fillets, skinned sides up, on a work surface and season with salt and pepper. Lay 5 or 6 asparagus perpendicularly across 1 fillet and wrap fish around them to make a bundle. Repeat with remaining fillets and asparagus. Transfer bundles, seam sides down, to roasting pan and brush fish with remaining melted butter. Season with salt and pepper, then add water to pan. Cover pan tightly with foil and bake until fish is just cooked through and asparagus is crisp-tender, about 20 minutes.

Make beurre blanc while fish bakes:
Boil tangerine juice with shallot in a 2-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat until reduced to about 2 tablespoons, 4 to 5 minutes. Reduce heat to moderately low, then whisk in 1 tablespoon butter, whisking constantly. Add remaining butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, whisking constantly, adding each piece before previous one has completely melted, and lifting pan from heat occasionally to cool mixture. Remove from heat and stir in salt, cayenne, and lemon juice.

Transfer fish with a slotted spatula to a platter and reserve pan juices. Cover fish with foil. Discard zest, then pour pan juices into a 10-inch skillet and boil over moderately high heat until reduced to about 2 tablespoons, about 2 minutes. Gradually whisk into beurre blanc.

Blot any liquid accumulated on platter with paper towels, then spoon sauce over fish. 
   
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/photo/Sole-Wrapped-Asparagus-with-Tangerine-Beurre-Blanc-231802      

1 comment:

  1. Katharine! This sounds beautiful, not to mention delicious! I'm so impressed you came up with the combo on your own. Amazing. Come cook for me any time.

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