Skate with brown butter, honey and capers

This is a great recipe to have on hand  for a quick and easy way to prepare fish. If you cannot find skate, you can substitute halibut steaks or fillets as well as fillets of black sea bass, red snapper, grouper or other firm, white-fleshed fish. The substitution is not perfect, but each of those fish responds beautifully to the same treatment


Yield 4 servings

Time 20 min


Ingredients

Flour for dredging
Salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 skate wing fillets, about 1 1/2 pounds total
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons capers, drained, or to taste
2 tablespoons wine vinegar
Chopped fresh parsley leaves for garnish

Method

1. Place a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place some flour on a plate, and season with salt and pepper. Put oil in skillet so that it coats the bottom well, and turn heat to high. When oil shimmers, dredge skate lightly in flour, shaking to remove excess, and add it to pan. You may need to cook the skate in two batches.

2. Cook until skate is nicely browned on first side, about 5 minutes, then turn. Cook on second side, adjusting heat so fish does not burn, until it is firm to touch, 3 minutes more or so. R

3. Add butter and honey to pan, and cook, stirring occasionally, until bubbly and brown, about 2 minutes. Add capers, and swirl them around, then pour sauce over fish. Immediately add vinegar to pan that butter was in, swirl it around, and pour it over fish. Garnish with parsley, and serve.

Adapted from Mark Bittman