Pan Fried Fish with Creamed Celeriac and Brown Butter Capers

11:30 am on 18 March 2013

(Serves 2)

Ingredients

Brown Butter

  • 100g butter – reserve a quarter
  • 1 Tablespoon of drained capers

Method

Pan fry your fish – we cook it with the skin on, skin side down a little longer to get a nice crispy skin

Brown Butter

In a small pot put in three quarters of the butter – melt butter on a high heat.  As butter melts keep swirling the pot – the butter will start to caramelise (gives a wonderful flavour).  When it reaches a lovely dark amber colour add the capers which will bubble, puff and go crispy. 

Take off the heat and add the remainder of the butter which stops it cooking further.

To Serve

Place a spoonful of celeriac on a plate, put the fish over the top and the spoonful of the butter and capers.

Wine match with Stephen Morris from Avida

Staete Landt Annabel Sauvignon Blanc 2012 (Marlborough, about $25). Has had some winemakers’ tricks (about 20% went into barrel and some had wild yeast ferments) but this smells classically cut grass, fresh, green, tomato leaf and calyx. The palate shows depth and texture.

Mount Riley Limited Release Sauvignon Blanc 2012 (Marlborough, under $20). Good asparagus and nettles. Fresher than the Staete Landt. But some nice creamy hints on the palate save this from simplicity.

Ara Select Blocks Sauvignon Blanc 2011 (Marlborough, about $25). There are some smoke notes on the nose, but also fennel freshness. The palate is textured and has some depth and weight. Check the fine print so as to buy the right wine; Ara have 3-4 labels; Mt Ara, Ara Single Vineyard…

TerraVin Te Ahu 2011 (Marlborough, about $35-40) Very attractive, gooseberry, sauvignon nose. Rich with green but not punchy; like dandelions in the field. Palate is fresh but with nice length and some smokiness. It’s a classy rendition of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.