Butter-Fried Fish with Lemon and Capers: Spilled Milk #246

You don't even need to measure ingredients for this weeknight fish dish.

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Maybe this post should be called “Hope in the Frying Pan?”

Why? Because you can’t grill fish every day or eat lobsters with steamers all summer long.

And because fish is so reasonably priced.

And because the texture contrast of this “piccata-style” fish dish is absolutely better than the “dustchickenwithflour” version…

But mostly because it’s fast, delicious and literally foolproof.

I love eating sustainably-farmed fish or wild fish from a well-managed fishery. Fish is a superb lean protein whose fats are better for you than almost all other kinds. Eating fish supports local fishermen if you buy seasonally and wisely, is better for your body than other animal meats, and the more we eat it, the healthier our planet can become. I’m dead serious about that, and if you haven’t seen our new doc series on PBS, I encourage you to do so. If you have seen it, let me know what you think!

I love serving and eating this dish because the texture contrast of the crunchy exterior and the softer flesh of the fish is divine. The sweetness of the brown butter, shallots and the fish playing against the acidity of the other sauce components is another key contrast that makes this simple dish so complex in flavor and so satisfying for the eater. Great food is all about contrasts in flavor, texture, temperature, aroma and so on. The more contrasts in a dish, the better. A perfect example is an ice cream cone: cool, sweet, creamy ice cream versus the warm, savory, crunchy cone…the nutty aroma of the cone and the wafting smell of the ice cream in there, well, you see what I am getting at.

Think about it. Contrast. And try to use more of it in your cooking. Listen to the judges on your favorite cooking competition shows. Whenever they say, “…could use a little more acidity…” or “…maybe another element for crunch?”, what they are also talking about is a missing contrasting element that elevates the satisfaction one gets from the dish as a whole.

Forget about my philosophizing. That’s my thing, and maybe it helps you. But if you just want a kick-ass, fun, easy weeknight fish dish, this is the one.

Recipe: Butter-Fried Fish with Lemon and Capers