Easy Fish Meuniere Amandine

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Easy Fish Meuniere Amandine

Pan Sauteed Fish with Brown Butter Sauce and Almonds

Fish Meuniere Amandine is a classic French dish. This version is borrowed from one of New Orleans premier chefs, Chef John Best. Like me, Besh grew up in the southern part of Louisiana, not far from the Gulf of Mexico and many other natural waterways. Here, fishing is a local pastime and great seafood dishes are a part of every week's menu. 

It reminds me of the Trout Meuniere Amandine at Galatoire's, one of my favorite restaurants in New Orleans. Heck, its probably one of my favorite dining establishments in the world. You never know who or what you will see there. From a full jazz band parading in the dining room off and then back on Bourbon Street to an impromptu table-hopping party with strangers. There’s always a full-on scene - best enjoyed on any Friday during lunch. Sit in the original main dining room on the first floor for the best experience of a New Orleans French Quarter icon.

This is a quick meal that combines pan sautéed fish with a brown butter sauce and almonds. A beurre meunière is part of time-honored French cuisine and refers to a sauce and a method of preparation. Meuniere means "miller's wife" because une meunière means to dredge food, usually fish, in the miller’s flour.

This is sooo easy to make and almost foolproof. The biggest slip-up is letting the butter and almonds get too brown. The tang of the lemon and the buttery crunch of almonds are a perfect merger with fish dredged in flour and pan fried in browned butter.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 cup milk

  • 1 cup flour

  • 2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning such as Tony Chachere's or Richard's

  • Six 6-8 ounce skinless fish fillets - speckled trout is best. Wild Alaskan cod works well if you can't get trout

  • Salt

  • Black pepper, freshly ground is best

  • 1 stick or 8 tablespoons butter, I use salted butter

  • 1/2 cup slice almonds

  • Juice of 1 lemon

  • 2 tablespoons chopped parsley

    Optional: sprigs of parsley and thin slices of lemon for garnish


TO PREPARE:

  1. Pour the milk into one wide dish. Put the flour and Cajun seasoning into a second wide dish and stir to combine.

  2. Season the fish fillets with salt and pepper.

  3. Dip fillets in the milk. Next, dredge fillets in the seasoned flour. Set fillets aside on a dish while you prepare the butter.

  4. Melt 1/2 half the butter (4 tablespoons) in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add fillets and cook on each side until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer fish to plates or serving platter.

  5. Add the remaining 4 tablespoons butter to the same skillet. Reduce heat to medium. Swirl the skillet over the heat or stir so that the butter melts evenly. Cook until the butter turns golden brown, about 5 minutes, being careful not to over-brown. 

  6. Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the almonds, and cook, stirring gently, until the nuts are toasty brown, about 3 minutes. Again, being careful not to over-brown. 

  7. Reduce heat to low. Add the lemon juice, parsley, and a dash of salt. Stir to mix then turn off heat.

  8. Spoon the browned butter and almonds over the fish and serve.

  9. Optional: Garnish with parsley sprigs and thin slices of lemon as desired.

Enjoy. Bon appetite,

laura