Salt Baked Fish With Easy Caper Beurre Blanc Recipes

BASIC BEURRE BLANC

Steps:

• Place shallot, bay leaf, peppercorns, vinegar, and wine in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and continue simmering until only 2 tablespoons of liquid remain.
• Pour in heavy cream and bring to a simmer; simmer until the cream has reduced by half. Increase heat to medium-high, and rapidly whisk in the butter, piece, by piece until it has melted into the cream and thickened it. Strain the sauce through a mesh strainer to remove the spices. Serve immediately.

CHEF JOHN'S BEURRE BLANC

Steps:

• Place wine, lemon juice, cream, shallots, and cream in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium, and let simmer until liquid is reduced by about 75%, 4 to 5 minutes. Reduce heat to the lowest setting and whisk in about 2 cubes of butter. Keep butter moving until it melts. When melted, add a few more cubes, whisking continuously so butter emulsifies into the wine/lemon juice mixture.
• Continue to add butter, a few cubes at a time until all of it has been incorporated and the sauce has a thick, luxurious texture, 4 to 6 minutes. Remove from heat. Taste for seasonings and add a pinch of salt and cayenne, if desired. Serve immediately.

SALT-BAKED FISH WITH EASY CAPER BEURRE BLANC

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Combine the kosher salt and orange zest and juice in a large bowl. Add room temperature water 1/2 cup at a time until the mixture feels like wet sand. Spread 1/3 of the mixture on a baking sheet and flatten to the same shape of the fish. Lay the fish on top of the salt. Season the cavity with a little of the salt and stuff with the sliced lemon and parsley sprigs. Top the fish with the remaining salt mixture, covering the fish completely and pressing lightly to pack the salt onto the fish.
• Bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the middle of the fish registers 135 to 140 degrees F, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove the fish from the oven and sit at room temperature for 8 to 10 minutes.
• While the fish rests, combine the wine, vinegar, shallot and capers in a small saucepan and place over high heat. Cook until reduced by half, about 6 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the cream. Stir in the butter a few chunks at a time, stirring until the butter is melted before adding more. Remove from the heat, season with salt and pepper and set aside.
• Use the back of a spoon to break through the salt and remove the chunks, peeling the skin away with the salt. Gently separate the flesh from the bones with a spoon or fish spatula and portion onto plates. Serve with the sauce and sprinkle with the chopped parsley.

WHOLE FISH BAKED IN A SALT CRUST WITH CHIVE BEURRE BLANC

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Spread a layer of kosher salt on the bottom of a roasting pan. Put 3 bay leaves on the salt, and place the fish on top. Put the rosemary sprigs and some pepper into the cavity of the fish and sprinkle the rest of the salt over it to cover completely. Spray with some water and pack the salt well. Bake for 35 minutes.
• Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Add shallots and sauté over medium low heat for about 4 minutes until soft. Add the wine and let reduce until about a quarter of a cup remains and it's very syrupy. Add the cold butter a little at a time, whisking constantly to form an emulsion. Stir in chives and season with salt and pepper.
• Remove the fish from the oven and crack the crust with a sharp knife. Remove the top in one piece if possible and scrape off any excess salt. Peel back the skin (the scales on the skin will make it easy to remove) and make an incision along the top of the fish. Gently remove the 2 fillets from the top of the fish and put on a plate. Flip onto a cutting board and peel off the skin on the other side. Lift the 2 fillets and add them to the plate. Pour the beurre blanc over the fish and garnish with fresh chives and lemon slices.

BEURRE BLANC

Steps:

• In small saucepan, combine shallots, wine, and vinegar. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and simmer until liquid is reduced to 2 tablespoons, about 10 minutes.
• Turn down heat to lowest possible flame. Whisk in butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, adding a piece as previous one melts. Don't allow sauce to become too hot. For a more smooth sauce, strain through a fine sieve, if desired.
• Season with salt and pepper and keep over a bain-marie. Just before serving, stir in herbs.

BAKED SEA BASS IN CRUST WITH PERNOD BEURRE BLANC

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
• Place the fish on a flat surface and sprinkle the cavity with salt and pepper. Stuff it with parsley and shallots.
• Roll out one sheet of puff pastry into a rectangle about 16 by 9 inches. Arrange the pastry on a large baking sheet. Arrange the fish lengthwise over the center of the pastry and brush around the fish with some of the egg yolk mixture.
• Roll out the second sheet into a rectangle and place it over the fish. Press the pastry around the sides of the fish to seal it. Use a sharp knife to cut away the pastry around the fish, leaving a border of about one-and-a-half inches. Use the sharp knife to vent the pastry in the middle of the fish if desired. If you wish, trim the pastry into the shape of a fish and decorate the top with a scale pattern or cutouts. Brush the pastry with the remaining egg yolk mixture.
• Place the fish in the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until the pastry is lightly browned. Reduce the temperature to 400 degrees. If necessary, cover the crust with aluminum foil. Cook for 15 minutes longer.
• While the fish is baking, combine the shallots and wine in a heavy saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat until the wine has nearly evaporated.
• Add the cream and reduce by half. Add the butter quickly, one tablespoon at a time, whisking constantly. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the herbs, salt, pepper and Pernod.
• Remove the fish from the oven and serve with the Pernod beurre blanc sauce.

SALT-BAKED FISH

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
• Combine the sea salt and egg whites until the mixture looks like wet sand.
• Stuff the branzino with the rosemary, parsley, garlic and lemon slices, then pack the outside tightly with the salt mixture. Put the branzino on a baking sheet.
• Bake until the salt turns golden brown, about 15 minutes. Place on a serving dish.
• Bring the branzino to the table for a few oohs and aahs, crack open the salt with a knife handle, brush away the salt, fillet the fish and serve.