Simple Pan-Fried Fish

This is my favorite way to prepare fish. It's quick, it's easy, it's simple, and it's really, really good. It works well with just about any fish (although I'd recommend using some kind of white fish, like walleye, cod, tilapia, etc.) It's so good you'll think it came from a restaurant--except that you made it!

Look how few ingredients it needs. (It also needs a little flour for dredging. And my lemon seems to have been absent while I was taking roll call.)

Well, we found the flour. Just a little flour seasoned with salt and pepper. A little Old Bay might be nice, too, if you had any in your spice drawer.

Lightly coat your fish in the flour mixture. Today I used a nice piece of cod. I cut it in half, to make it a more manageable size.

I melted a blend of butter and olive oil in a large pan.

Once they melted together and my  pan was hot, I carefully laid down my fish.

After 4-5 minutes, the fish became a nice golden brown. I carefully flipped it over. It was so large that I had to use two spatulas.

A note--since I had two pieces of fish,  I sauteed them separately so I wouldn't crowd the pan. If you do this, you may find that you need to add a little more butter and olive oil. If the pan starts to look dry, just add another drizzle of oil and you should be fine.

Once the fish has been on both sides and is fully cooked through, remove it from the pan and set it aside.  Mince up a shallot.

You could use regular onion, but shallots have such a nice, sweet flavor and are a great base for this sauce.

Add another bit of butter to the pan and throw in the shallots.

Saute the shallot until it starts to soften. Scrape up any little yummy brown bits left behind by the fish.

Pour in half a cup (half of one of those little bottles) of white wine. If you've got a gas stove, be careful of any alcohol-burning flames!

The juice from half a lemon will brighten the fish's flavor.

A dash of cream adds just a little richness.

And some fresh parsley gives a brownish sauce some color.

Give the sauce a stir and let all the newly-added ingredients heat up.















Pour your warm sauce over your fish. Give it another squeeze of lemon juice if you like. In less than half an hour, you should have a beautiful piece of fish covered with a tangy, lemony, slightly sweet sauce that tastes like it came from a professional kitchen. Give this recipe a try the next time you're in the mood for fish. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Recipe: Simple Pan-Fried Fish
1 large fish fillet (any whitefish)
flour
salt and pepper

1 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. olive oil

1 tbsp. butter
1 shallot, minced
1/2 c. white wine
juice from half a lemon
1 tbsp. cream
1 handful parsley, minced


In a large, flat dish, combine flour and salt and pepper. Lightly coat fish in flour mixture.

In a large pan, melt butter and olive oil over medium heat. Carefully add fish. Let each side cook for 4-5 minutes or until golden brown and fish is cooked all the way through. Remove fish from pan.

In the same pan, add butter and shallot. Saute until shallot is softened. Lower heat to medium-low. Add wine, lemon juice, cream, and parsley. Heat gently until sauce is hot. Spoon over the fish and serve.