the best sauce for fish *ever*

Isn’t it nice to try some­thing new now and again?  Believe me, I am all for cook­ing the same things over and over, espe­cial­ly in the dull win­ter.  But every once in awhile, I taste some­thing real­ly dif­fer­ent, real­ly unusu­al, and I can’t help try­ing it at home.

When I was in New York, eat­ing at The Lit­tle Owl in Soho with my chum Alyssa, we had a sal­ad dress­ing of the most sub­lime.  I weasled the list of ingre­di­ents out of the wait­ress, who actu­al­ly dis­ap­peared into the kitchen to give the fair­ly con­vinc­ing impres­sion that she was ask­ing the chef.  They were: olive oil, lemon juice and “a beurre noisette.”

Hmm.

This last term sent me to do a bit of research.  I knew that noisette is French for “hazel­nut,” yet there was no sign of them.  It appears that a beurre noisette is a but­ter sauce cooked with clar­i­fied but­ter and browned, so that the but­ter takes on a nut­ty fla­vor, then with oth­er ingre­di­ents being seem­ing­ly option­al, like the capers in our Lit­tle Owl dress­ing, or lemon, or parsley.

It’s just deli­cious.  Light, very Frenchy, sophis­ti­cat­ed and quite the most per­fect addi­tion to a sim­ple broiled or grilled fish.  Try it.

Brill With Beurre Noisette Sauce

(serves 4)

4 fil­lets skin­less brill

1/2 cup/110 grams salt­ed butter

hand­ful flat-leaf pars­ley, chopped

2 tbsps whole capers

fresh black pepper

a cou­ple of drops lemon juice

This sauce is intend­ed for grilled, broiled or sauteed brill, or any oth­er del­i­cate white fish like lemon or Dover sole, sea bream or even tilapia.  Sim­ply pre­pare the fish, and pour over the sauce.

To make the sauce, melt the but­ter in a saucepan and let sit for a moment.  Skim off any of the white solids that may lay on top, then pour the clear, pure but­ter into anoth­er saucepan, leav­ing behind the white solids in the bot­tom.  This is clar­i­fied but­ter, or “ghee” as it is known in Indi­an cuisine.

Now sim­ply add all the oth­er ingre­di­ents and cook the sauce until the but­ter browns, then keep warm until ready for use.

Sim­ply LOVELY.

Tonight is to be grilled salmon, which I don’t think can take a beurre noisette.  But I’d be ready to eat it on JUST about any­thing else!  Or even… plain.