Fish with White Wine Sauce

1. Fish – This recipe is suitable for any white fish fillet suitable for pan frying, or salmon and trout. Just avoid:

Fish that dries out easily –like swordfish, tuna, bonito, kingfish, marlin, Mahi Mahi.

Oily fish that also tends to have quite a “fish” flavour, such as sardines, mackerel, mullet.

See in post for an extensive list of fish suited to this recipe.

2. Eschalots –Also known as French onions, and called “shallots” in the US. They look like baby onions, but have purple-skinned flesh, are finer and sweeter. Not to be confused with what some people in Australia call “shallots” ie the long green onions.

3. Wine – Any white wine that’s not too woody or sweet will work great here. Chardonnay in particular adds really good flavour. Sub low sodium chicken stock/broth for a non alcoholic version.

Don’t use an expensive wine. The flavour and aroma that you pay for is largely lost during cooking. It’s pretty well documented these days by notable food authorities (such as New York Times Cooking) that you do not need to use expensive wines for cooking.

4. Fish cook times will differ for different size fillets. This is the time for a 150g/5oz snapper fillet which is around 1.75cm / 2/3″ at the thickest point (fairly even thickness most of the way along).

If your fish is much thinner and more delicate, use a lower heat. If your fish is much thicker, consider searing on stove then finishing in the oven at 180°C/350°F until the internal temperature is 55°C/131°F.