fluke

Poaching boneless, skinless fish fillets in a brothy sauce is a foolproof (and undeniably delicious) method for cooking fish. Here, go for meaty, mild-flavored, firm-fleshed varieties like cod, haddock, pollack, halibut or flounder. This flavorful sauce, made from burst cherry (or other small) tomatoes, sizzled shallots and toasted garlic, definitely has a summery vibe; feel free to substitute a can of peeled tomatoes if the real deal isn’t in season.

Tomato-Poached Fish With Chile Oil and Herbs

olive oil,

garlic cloves, thinly sliced

shallot,

red-pepper flakes

small, sweet tomatoes, halved

Kosher salt and black pepper

fish sauce (optional)

halibut

cilantro, leaves and tender stems

mint, leaves and tender stems

Limes, halved,

Tortillas, toast

Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a large skillet (use one with a lid) over medium-high. Add garlic and shallots and cook, swirling the skillet constantly until they start to toast and turn light golden brown, 2 minutes or so. Add red-pepper flakes and swirl to toast for a few seconds. Remove from heat and transfer all but 1 tablespoon of the chile oil to a small bowl.

Add tomatoes to the skillet and season with salt and pepper. Cook, tossing occasionally, until they burst and start to become saucy and jammy, 5 to 8 minutes. Add fish sauce, if using, and 1 1/2 cups water, swirling to release any of the bits stuck on the bottom of the skillet.

Cook until the sauce is slightly thickened but still nice and brothy, 3 to 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Season the fish with salt and pepper and gently lay the pieces in the brothy tomatoes. Cover the skillet and cook until the fish is opaque and just cooked through, 4 to 6 minutes (slightly longer for a thicker piece of fish, like halibut).

To serve, transfer fish and brothy tomatoes to a large shallow bowl or divide among four bowls. Drizzle with reserved chile oil, more olive oil and the crispy shallots and garlic. Top with cilantro and mint, and serve with limes for squeezing over the top. Serve with tortillas, toast or rice, if you like.

This is a very old recipe, taken from the kitchen of Henri’s in Lynbrook, N.Y., opened by an extravagant French restaurateur named Henri Charpentier in 1910. It asks for flounder, known on Long Island as fluke, but you could make it with cod or haddock or halibut, with freshwater trout or catfish, with any mild-flavored fish. It’s an elegant and really quite simple preparation, the fish fillets baked on top of and beneath a butter sauce cooked with chopped shallots, garlic, chives, parsley and minced mushrooms, brightened with lemon juice and white wine, and with bread crumbs, sliced mushrooms and dots of butter strewn across the top. You can make the sauce in the morning, if you like, and assemble the dish for the oven just before dinner, making it a breeze for weeknight entertaining. But it’s no stretch to do it all, as Charpentier might have said, “à la minute.”

Fluke au Gratin

unsalted butter,

garlic clove,

button mushrooms, plus 1/2 cup thinly sliced button mushrooms

chives

parsley,

white wine

white wine vinegar

lemon juice

salt and black pepper

bread crumbs

Heat oven to 425 degrees. In a medium skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium-high heat. When it foams, add the shallot, garlic, minced mushrooms, chives and parsley; stir to combine. Sauté until the garlic starts to toast and turn golden, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Stir in 1/4 cup of the wine, the vinegar and lemon juice. Let cook until the liquid is reduced by half, stirring frequently, about 2 to 3 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Butter a casserole or baking dish large enough to accommodate the fillets of fish in one even layer, and spoon half the sautéed mushroom mixture into it. Arrange the fillets on top, season them with salt and pepper, and cover with the sliced mushrooms.

Stir the remaining 2 tablespoons of wine into the sautéed mushroom mixture, and drizzle it evenly over the sliced mushrooms. Sprinkle the bread crumbs over the top of the dish. Cut the remaining 2 tablespoons butter into small pieces, and dot over the top.

Roast until the top is golden and the fish is opaque and flaky, about 10 to 12 minutes. Garnish with remaining parsley.

This is my family&#039;s method of making fried flounder. It is tried and true, and I have made only one change to it since the 1970s: I add a little mustard to the egg wash mix, which I learned in Louisiana. It adds a ton of flavor. You&#039;ll also see the homemade fries on the plate. If you want to make them, I followed this recipe from The Splendid Table.

Fried Flounder with Tartar Sauce

mayonnaise

mustard, (Dijon

Tabasco sauce

chopped pickles

capers

Salt and black pepper

flounder

Salt

flour

eggs

milk

mustard

breadcrumbs

For the tartar sauce, mix everything in a bowl and set it in the fridge. Salt the fish lightly on both sides and set aside.

Set up a breading station. You will want plates or shallow bowls or somesuch. The first has the flour in it -- and if you want more seasoning than I am suggesting in this recipe, this is where you add it -- then another basin with the eggs, milk and mustard all beaten together, then the final basin with the breadcrumbs.

Dredge the flounder in the flour first, pressing it into the fish and making sure you get it totally covered. Now sweep the fillet through the egg wash, again making sure you get it totally coated. Finally, set it in the breadcrumbs and press them in to make a good coating. Set each fillet on a plate or tray in the fridge and let it rest 1 hour, and up to all day.

When you are ready to fry, pour in enough oil to get to a depth of about 1 inch in a large frying pan. If you happen to me making the fries to go with this, make them first and hold them in the oven. Heat the oil over high heat. Set a rack over a baking sheet and put that in the oven. Set the oven to &quot;warm.&quot;

When the oil hits 350F, fry your fish, right from the fridge. This works because they are very thin, and you want a pretty golden crust without overcooking the fish. Room temperature flounder fried this way will overcook. It take about 3 to 5 minutes per side to get golden brown. Move each finished fillet to the rack in the oven. When they&#039;re all done, serve it up with the tartar sauce.

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Tomato-Poached Fish With Chile Oil ...

Fluke au Gratin

Fried Flounder with Tartar Sauce

Top 3 fluke recipes from across the web

The most viewed fluke recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

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Tomato-Poached Fish With Chile Oil ...

Fluke au Gratin

Fried Flounder with Tartar Sauce

The most viewed fluke recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine