Not Floundering For A Meal

Ha ha. Yes.
Terrible pun.
Shoot me.
Apparently I have some of my punster grandfather in me other than just the legs*.

Dinner last night was flounder, as it was on sale and every once in a while I try to feed us something a bit lighter than average for dinner. Especially since it's a relatively warm weekend for October, so the light fare feels good.

Have you ever done a search online for recipes for flounder? They are all SOOOOO boring!!! And the other 80% of them are recipes for flounder stuffed with crabmeat (of which I am not the greatest fan).
So, I did a spin on a sauce I made for chicken, and I have to say it worked great on the flounder. (Or any other white fish.)

For the cooking of the flounder, I simply patted it dry, seasoned with salt, dredged through a little flour, and cooked it in a sauté pan for about 2-3 minutes per side. It's done when you try to remove it and the friggin' thing will not stay in one piece for a pretty plating shot.

Not shown: Grandpa fresh dill, wine, stock

The above is the basis of the sauce. About half a pint of grape tomatoes, halved, 1 shallot, 2 cloves of garlic, the zest and juice of half of a lemon, about 2 tablespoons of capers, white wine and a splash of chicken stock if  you want to mellow the wine flavor a bit.

In olive oil, sauté shallot until softened (about 3-4 minutes). Then add the tomatoes and allow them to cook for 2-3 minutes, or until they look like they are starting to soften. Next add the garlic (minced or grated) and cook off for about 30 seconds, stirring well.

For 2 fish filets, I probably used about 1/4 cup of white wine and 1/4 cup of chicken stock to make the sauce. After adding the liquids, squeeze the juice from the half lemon, toss in the zest & capers, and about 2 tablespoons of freshly chopped dill.

(Reserve a bit for garnish.)

Let the sauce reduce and thicken a bit, season with salt, finish it with a tablespoon (more or less) of butter for richness and gloss, and pour over the fish.

Very tasty, and the tomatoes made it slightly different from the average lemon-butter-dill sauce.

To round out the meal I used some leftover leek & white bean purée (which I really just love, and this time did not contain mascarpone) and tossed in some peas for good measure. I enjoyed the meal, and so did the hubs.

Don't like dill? 

Try substituting cilantro. It will give a bright kick to the sauce.

But this is a light meal packed with protein and veggies.

Enjoy!

*While my face clearly resembles my mother (tho she was much more of a knockout than I ever was) the rest of my body is kind of an odd amalgamation that does not directly reflect on either side of my family in any particular way. However, when I was still a teenager, possibly 18 or so, we were looking through some old black and white photos, and my mom found one of her father at the beach wearing swim trunks. She paused for a moment, pointed and exclaimed to me, "You have grandpa's legs!"

Rock.
Maybe not exactly what every teenage girl wants to hear, but at least it solved part of the puzzle that is me.