Flounder with Herbed Lemon Brown Butter

Flatfish Fiesta

Flounder with herbed lemon brown butter is a nice simple dish which cooks up in a hurry on the stovetop - really good for mid-summer when you’d rather not use the oven.

It goes nicely with Garlicky Green Beans and some Yukon Gold potatoes.

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Summary

Serves: 2

Total Time: 20 minutes

Fill-O-Meter rating: Fish with two side, perfect. Wife agrees.

Leftover potential: Best to cook just enough for the meal.

Wife’s rating: Yummy

Ingredients

Flounder filets, about 6 oz per person

Flour, 1/3 - 1/2 cup

Salt, to taste

Pepper, to taste

Cayenne, optional

1 Tbsp olive oil

Sauce:

2 Tbsp Butter

1 Lemon

1 Tbsp fresh tarragon

1 Tbsp fresh parsley

Substitutions

Flounder -> sole, halibut or any boneless flatfish filet

Tarragon -> Sage also works nicely (use same amount as tarragon)

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Prep Overview

Cooking materials

Wide bowl for dusting the fish

A 1 gallon food storage bag also works well for this. You put the fish in with the seasoned flour, seal it and shake it. This gives a pretty even coating to the fish with minimal fuss. Reminds me of Shake and Bake (which is still on the market, believe it or not).

Saute pan

Small rimmed baking sheet

Knife for chopping

Cutting board

Citrus juicer, optional

2 small cups or ramekins

Oven

Give it a rest!

Slicing, dicing

There’s nothing to do in advance

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Cooking Process

Juice the lemon

Squeeze 1 lemon for its juice

Set aside in a small jar or cup so it’s ready to use

Chop the herbs

Rough chop 1 Tbsp tarragon and 1 Tbsp parsley

Set aside for later use

Season the flour

Measure 1/3 to 1/2 cup of flour into your pan (or bag). You need enough to completely dust the fish.

Add salt and pepper to taste

Add a pinch of cayenne if you like a little heat

Dust the fish

Dredge the fish in the flour, covering both sides well

If you’re using a bag, just toss the fish in, seal it and shake it up

Heat the saute pan

Set the pan over a medium-high flame. After it heats for a minute or so, add 1 Tbsp olive oil to the pan.

Saute the fish

Shake the excess flour off the filets.

Lay flat in the pan, leaving a little room between filets

Cook for 2 minutes per side, until nicely browned (a little longer for thicker filets)

Put the cooked filets aside on a baking sheet. Keep it near the saute pan to stay warm if you need to saute multiple batches.

Make the sauce

Once all the fish is cooked, add 2 Tbsp butter to the saute pan, leaving the heat at medium-high

Melt until it’s browning but not burnt

Add the lemon juice, tarragon and parsley to the pan and stir

Finish it up

Slip the cooked filets into the sauce and warm them for a minute

Serve

Plate the filets and drizzle a little extra sauce over top of each one.

Add your side dishes and dig in!

Enjoy!