Tilapia Meunière
Meunière means "miller's wife" in French and connotes a culinary preparation involving foods like fish or veal, dredged in flour, sautéed in brown butter, shallots, lemon juice and fresh parsley, then finished with capers.
Tilapia is a fish I never heard of until the 2000s, and now I see it everywhere. Because of their large size, rapid growth, and palatability, a number of Tilapia species have been the focus of major aquaculture efforts, and today, it is the fifth most popular seafood consumed in the United States. I have tried this dish with more expensive kinds of fish, including Red Snapper and Dover Sole, which are the more classic Meunière preparations. While delicious, both are more expensive varieties of fish and tilapia - just as mild and flavorful - is more economical and available.
I enhance my Meunière Sauce with wine and a splash of heavy cream - not considered traditional, but delicious nevertheless. Also not traditional are the seasonings that I put in the dredging flour.
Tilapia Meunière
Ingredients
- 4 4-oz Tilapia fillets
- 1/2 stick unsalted butter
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2- ½ tbsp paprika
- 2 tbsp fine sea salt
- 1 tbsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp dried thyme
- lemon wedges for garnish
- 2 sticks unsalted butter
- 1 small shallot, finely minced
- ¼ cup white wine
- juice of 1 fresh lemon
- 1 small jar nonpareil capers, drained (like, Crosse & Blackwell)
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp heavy cream
Instructions
- Put the flour in a large mixing bowl and add the paprika, sea salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, oregano and thyme. Mix well with a wire whisk to combine. Lay out the mixture on a paper plate.
- Dredge the fish fillets in the flour mixture, pressing each side into the mixture to ensure an even coating. Allow the fish to rest on clean paper plate, but do not stack the fillets on top of one another.
- Melt one stick of butter in a small saucepan and sauté the shallots over medium high heat until translucent, but not browned.
- Add the capers, lemon juice and white wine to the saucepan and simmer for 2 minutes, then add the second stick of butter.
- When the butter has melted, whisk in the heavy cream and keep the sauce warm, just under a simmer.
- Meanwhile, melt 1/2 stick butter in a skillet over medium high heat.
- Place the fish fillets in the hot oil and cook until browned, 3-4 minutes per side.
- Remove fish to a serving plate. Add the fresh parsley to the sauce, then spoon the sauce over the fish for service. Garnish with fresh lemon wedges.
