Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Pan Roasted Snapper with Lemon Celery Puree

Seems like I have been doing quite a fair bit of pasta cooking the past few weeks, so this past weekend, I decided to play around more with protein based dishes.

A lot of cooking is about understanding flavor profiles, and being creative about mixing different flavors to create something new and fresh, and this week, I would like to make something out of lemon and celery.

I had saw a recent Top Chef Masters episode where the winner of that challenge came up with a simple yet refreshing celery broth drizzled with some lemon oil.

I recreated that dish and was instantly wowed by how the flavors combined. It was bold, yet light and zesty all at once.

I decided to do a fish dish with this as I felt the lightness of this combination will go very well with a fish course, and it certainly did!

Score the fish on the skin side and season with salt and pepper on both sides. Pan roast it in a pan and flip it only once when you see the fish is about two thirds cooked. Bast it with butter for another 2-3 minutes and let it rest.

In another pot, saute some onions and leeks that are chopped until the aroma is evident. Splash some white wine and let the alcohol reduce until it is almost all gone. Add chopped celery and toss the mixture thoroughly.

Add about 2 cups of chicken stock and bring everything to a boil and then let it simmer for another 10 minutes,. Add it some cream to thicken it. Grate some lemon zest into the pot and blend everything into a puree.

If it is not zesty enough, add in some additional lemon juice until the puree is nicely balanced.

To plate, spoon the puree into a plate and then place the cooked fish onto of the puree and garnish with some chopped parsley..

It is a healthy dish, and full of bold flavors and the citrus taste will just refresh you!

No comments:

Post a Comment