Shallow Poached Snapper with White Wine Sauce

Typically when you poach fish (or anything) you completely cover it with liquid, but this recipe from Ruhlman’s Twenty employs something called shallow poaching, which has the benefit of giving you an easy pan sauce afterwards. You can use any dense fish such as walleye, grouper or halibut for this recipe.

The tomato confit is from http://www.marthastewart.com/318889/thomas-kellers-tomato-confit and I served the fish with this risotto: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/mushroom_risotto/ and roasted Brussels sprouts.

Shallow Poached Snapper:

4 snapper filets (~23 oz. total)

2 ½ tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 large shallot, minced

1 cup dry white wine (I used an un-oaked Chardonnay)

3 sprigs parsley, plus some for garnish

Salt

Lemon juice

In a small ramekin, combine 1 ½ tablespoons of butter and 1 tablespoon of flour. Use your hand to form into a ball – this is beurre manié (kneaded butter) which will thicken the sauce.

Take the remaining 1 tbsp of butter and add to a 12” sauté pan over medium heat. Sweat the shallot for about two minutes, then add the wine, ½ cup water, the parsley and the fish. The liquid should come halfway up the fish. Cover with a parchment paper lid and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until the fish is just cooked through.

Remove the fish and cover loosely with foil. Turn the heat on the pan to high, and stir in the beurre manié. Cook the sauce until it thickens to your preference. Season with salt and lemon juice.

Tomato Confit:

6 Roma tomatoes

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

1 tablespoon or so of fresh thyme

Preheat your oven to 250°F. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Take a large bowl and add ice cubes and some cold water. Remove the stems from the tomatoes, and score the opposite and with an X shape using a paring knife.

Add the tomatoes to the boiling water, and boil for 30 seconds to 1 minute, until the skin starts to peel back. Remove from the pot and add to the ice water. Allow the tomatoes to cool before removing them.

Once the tomatoes are cooled, peel off the skins and cut them in half. Place them on a silpat-lined baking sheet cut side up. Drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt, pepper, and thyme.

Cook in the oven for 5 to 6 hours, until dried halfway through. Store in a container with the excess oil in the pan poured on top.