A couple of days ago, I wrote: > Today, I came into possesion of a reasonably
> fresh red grouper. I'm thinking Grouper Piccata,
> Garlic Mashed Red Potatoes w/horseradish, and
> Roasted Asparagus w/balsamic vinegar....

The asparagus and mashed potatoes are pretty self-explanatory, however, for those who haven't tried this, the piccata will work w/any firm white fish, I've used amberjack, scamp, snapper striped bass and redfish all over the years. It's also a great way to do chicken and, naturally veal. Can be served w/rice or of course, pasta. The roasted asparagus also calls for capers FWIW.

Here's how I do it:
GROUPER PICCATA
Printer version of this recipe

2-4 large grouper filets
Salt and pepper to taste
1/3-1/2 cup flour
1/4 - 1/3 cup olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/3-1/2 cup chicken stock
1 lemon
2-3 tablespoon drained capers
1/2 stick unsalted butter
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

Season the fish with salt and pepper, coat with flour, shaking to remove any excess.

Heat the oil in a 12-inch cast-iron skillet, add the fish and sauté for 2 to 2 1/2 minutes or until lightly browned.

Then turn carefully and sauté on the other side for 2 to 2 1/2 minutes or until light brown.

Remove the fish and place on a warm platter on the bottom rack in a 200-degree oven.

Add the garlic to the skillet and sauté for 10 about seconds, then add the wine to the skillet, stirring with a wooden spoon to scrape up the yummy browned bits.

Simmer until reduced by half, stir in the chicken stock and the juice of 1/2 of the lemon.

Simmer until reduced by half again, adding the capers and simmering for about 1 minute at the end, then remove from the heat and add the butter, stirring until melted.

Stir in the fresh parsley, spoon out the sauce over the fish and garnish w/thinly sliced lemon (the half you have left from above).

servers about 4 to 8 depending on gluttony...

- yers in a Holy Lent -
Andrew H. Auld

From: Andrew H. Auld
Date: Sun, 25 Feb 2007
To: Anglican@stsams.org
Subject: [Anglican] Recipe - Grouper piccata
      - was: apropos of little other than gluttony. ..

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ADDENDUM:
The recipe works w/any firm, white -fleshed fish. Haddock would work great. The secret is "fresh" - hell, if you live in Mississippi, catfish would probably work well enough. I have to admit to not ever cooking w/cod, fresh.

-- carol@dragon.com wrote:
> I miss really good fresh seafood. The frozen stuff from Giant Eagle
> just doesn't > quite cut it the same way. I wonder if I could try the
> piccata recipe with cod or > haddock which we easily get in the deli.

for example, if I have old or "fishy" fish... (everyone knows what I'm talking about here, right?), like Spanish Mackerel, what works best usually is grilling w/lemon and vermouth (to mask how really raunchy the fish actually is) - that's not the kind of dish this is.

The thing about the piccata is it flavors, but doesn't overwhelm either the texture or the flavor of the meat underneath it, be it fin, fowl, or fur. IMO.