FLUKE AU GRATIN

facebook share image   twitter share image   pinterest share image   E-Mail share image



Fluke au Gratin image

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."

Provided by Sam Sifton

Categories     dinner, seafood, main course

Time 30m

Yield 4 servings

Number Of Ingredients 12

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
1 small shallot, peeled and minced
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
2 tablespoons minced button mushrooms, plus 1/2 cup thinly sliced button mushrooms
1 tablespoon minced chives
1 tablespoon minced parsley, plus 1 tablespoon roughly chopped parsley for garnish
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons white wine
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 to 1 1/2 pounds fluke, flounder, sole or other mild, white-fleshed fish fillets
1/3 cup dried bread crumbs

Steps:

  • 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.

There are no comments yet!