Erica De Mane

Storm Break, Venice Fish Market, by Phong Trinh.

Recipe below: Sautéed Red Snapper with Orange Zest and Fennel

I don’t have fond memories of baked fish. The Fashion Institute of Technology cafeteria served hotel pans full of baked cod every night, its sour steam permeating the air, hitting me the minute I walked in the door. The fillets were beige and dry, despite all the murky juices they exuded. Other specialties at the otherwise wonderful trade school included boiled cauliflower topped with salad cream, something I’d never heard of, and stiff squares of what were labeled scrambled eggs, served with a side of acidic salsa. Coming from my parents’ Italian-American kitchen, I found it all a shock. You’d think a fashion school could come up with something a little more fashionable. After a few months I could no longer stand the smell of the place, especially its stinking cod, and I started holding spaghetti puttanesca parties in my dorm. An improvement.

What is it about baking that brings out the worst in a white, boneless slab of seafood, sometimes giving it the smell of a public bathroom? Okay, maybe I’m slightly inflating the problem,  but other people, especially cooks with good noses, must agree to some extent. Even if the fish is super fresh, baking it, especially at low heat, seems to accentuate its innate fishiness. I guess topping it with crumbs and herbs helps, but, still, it wouldn’t be my first choice. If I’ve got a nice fillet of red snapper or sea bass, or salmon, I’m most likely going to sauté it.

Sautéing seals in the juices and coats the fillet in flavorful butter or olive oil, or, as I love most, a mix of both. More often than not I keep the skin on (unless it will cook up flabby, as with mackerel, for instance). The skin will hold it together, making it easier to flip, but more important it will add crunch, a lovely contrast with the soft flesh beneath.

There are a several good ways to sauté fish fillets. The method I like best for skin-on fish is the one I show you here. It’s easy high-heat cooking that will make you feel in control. I hope you enjoy it.

Sautéed Red Snapper with Orange Zest and Fennel

(Serves 2)

2 Red snapper or sea bass fillets, about 8 ounces each, with their skin on
Salt
Black pepper
½ teaspoon fennel pollen or ground fennel seed
½ teaspoon sugar
Extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
The grated zest and juice from 1 orange and 1 lemon, plus the juice from the lemon and the juice from half of the orange
About 10 basil leaves, cut into chiffonade

Pat the fillets dry with a paper towel. Then score them lightly through the skin in two or three places, depending on how long they are. That will help them cook evenly and prevent them from curling up during cooking (it also will aid in crisping up their skin, most important for flavor and texture). Season the fish with salt, black pepper, the sugar (this will help it brown), and the fennel pollen, getting some into the slits in the skin.

Pull out a large sauté pan, and get it hot over high heat. Add a tablespoon of butter and a tablespoon or a little more of olive oil, and let that heat through. When it’s bubbling and hot, place the red snapper in the pan, skin side down. Let it cook without moving it around at all. You want the skin to really brown up. This can take a few minutes, so try not to get too impatient. When the edges of the fillets look nicely browned and they start smelling sweet and good and move easily when you shake the pan, give them a gentle flip, and let them cook on the other side until just tender, a minute or so longer, depending, again, on their thickness. This stage of the cooking will go faster than you’d think, so maybe don’t walk away. You may poke a thin knife into one of the scored areas if you’re not sure about its doneness. If it goes in easily and doesn’t feel tight and resilient, it’s done.

Take the fish from the skillet and plate it, skin side up, on two warm dinner plates.

Now, I usually like to make a quick pan sauce. Unfortunately high heat fish cooking doesn’t leave the most delicious pan juices. Often they’re a bit burnt and oily. So discard all that, and take out a fresh small sauté pan. Turn the heat to medium high. Drizzle in a thread of olive oil, and add the orange and lemon zests, shaking the pan around until everything is fragrant, only about 30 seconds. Pour in the lemon and orange juice, letting it boil for about 30 seconds longer, and add a pinch of salt. Pull the pan from the heat, and whisk in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Pour the liquid over the fish, and scatter on the basil. Serve right away.

I like to serve crisp skin-on fish with Israeli couscous or rice simply tossed with butter and fresh herbs, and maybe a scattering of small chopped tomatoes.