Pan-Seared FinFish
Pan-Seared FinFish ~with Lemon Butter Caper Pan-Sauce
Serves 4
Ingredients:
Four 4-oz filets white fish (haddock, pollock, or hake), patted dry
1/2 teaspoon salt
Ground black pepper to taste
2 Tablespoon cooking oil of choice (avocado oil, canola oil, grapeseed oil, or extra virgin olive oil) *I used extra virgin olive oil in video demo)
Optional: 4 sprigs each fresh thyme and oregano
Directions:
Season the fish with salt and pepper on both sides.
Add oil to a large (12-14”) non-stick pan and turn heat to medium-high.
When oil is hot and starts to shimmer, carefully add fish to pan, along with sprigs of herbs if using. Using a wide flat or fish spatula, gently press down on fish to prevent it from curling up. Sear for about 3 minutes. Flip and cook for another 1-2 minutes.* (Fish is cooked when it can easily flake with a fork).
Serve immediately or set aside and keep warm while you prepare a pan-sauce in the same pan.
*Cooking time is based on filets that are about ½” thick. Cooking time will increase if pieces of fish are thicker.
Lemon Butter Caper Pan-Sauce
Ingredients (for 1 lb fish):
¼ cup unsalted butter
1 cup seafood stock (or chicken stock)
¼ cup capers, drained
2 Tablespoons lemon juice or dry white wine
Directions:
Add all ingredients to small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Cook for approximately 3-5 minutes until sauce starts to thicken.
Plating:
Pan-seared fish filet
Pan-Sauce
Blanched Green Beans/Haricot Verts
Boiled Baby Yellow Potatoes tossed with extra virgin olive oil
Garnish: Chopped Chives
Cooking Tips:
Same technique for any type of fish but time will vary
Pat fish dry to prevent any splattering when you add fish to hot oil
If skin-on, cook skin-side down to get crispy and then flip for last few minutes of cooking
If thicker piece of fish, will take longer. Or can transfer to pre-heated oven to finish cooking.
Haddock, pollock, and hake are good substitutes for recipes that call for cod
Nutrition Tips:
Flaky white fish is great source of very lean protein
One serving of the cooked fish meets more than 20% of your daily needs for niacin, vitamin B12, phosphorus, and selenium.
This type of fish is also a good source of riboflavin, vitamin B5, and vitamin B6 and contains small amounts of iron, vitamin D, vitamin E, and folate.