A friend helped weeding the garden today so I asked him to stay for dinner and also what would he like? Fish. He is from a humble background and any kind of sauce is a novelty he always enjoys. With that in mind I went off to the market. Sole was on special and I had slivered almonds at home. New potatoes were also on special so I bought a bag of those too.
I find that black pepper in a white sauce on white fish can look a little unappealing. This time I decided to try white pepper. I put flour, salt and white pepper in a plastic bag and shook all the fish to coat. The fish was cut up into pieces about the size of my spatula so they would be easy to turn. I fried them till they had a little color on each side.
I haven't been particularly happy with the results when I've tried to toast the almonds in butter, I get them too dark. This time I decided to do them right in the sauce pan. I started with 2 tablespoons of cooking oil, a pad of butter and 2 tablespoons of flour. I cooked off the flour taste then added the almonds. I continued to fry them until the flour and nuts took on a hint of color. Then I added chicken stock to thin, an ounce of white wine and the juice of half a lemon. I added a healthy pinch of salt and tasted. The deep flavor from the chicken stock overlaid with fruitiness of the wine, butter and almond and the tang of lemon, delicious!
The potatoes were just boiled then salted and buttered, chives I scissored over top on the plate. The vegetables I did in the microwave with an ounce of chicken stock. I did my potatoes in the base of the steamer so I had to microwave the veggies. I know I can get better flavor if I par boil them then dunk them in ice water to stop them cooking and fry them to finish, but I have to plan ahead to do that. In any case, our friend thoroughly enjoyed the meal.
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