Lemon Sole with Verjus

LTH,

Couple of months ago while reading Dara Moskowitz's Pucker Power in Best Food Writing 2005 I came across "If you learn only one new sour trick this year, it should be this: Saute a white fish, such as halibut or sole, with a little oil or butter in a very hot non-stick pan. Once the fish is toasty brown on one side, flip it, add a shot of verjus cover the pan, and let the fish finish in the verjus steam for a moment"

Made a mental note to try and, finally, tonight did just that with lemon sole and verjus made from Sangiovese grapes, both of which I bought at Fox and Obel. Really terrific, not in a complicated 'lots going on' fashion, but the basic flavor of the fish seemed to be highlighted, brightened if you will. Since this was a holiday meal I also made polenta, which I finished with crumbled Humboldt Fog, lightly steamed asparagus and Braised Radishes from a Rachel Ray recipe*. The braised radish had a sour (red wine vinegar) component as well.

Rounded out the meal with matzo, Sauvignon Blanc and a (not for Passover) coke. My wife loved the fish w/verju and I intend to experiment with verjus. As a bonus, verjus is reputed to be more wine friendly than regular vinegar, in particular when used on salads.

Lemon Sole w/verjus, polenta w/Humboldt Fog, Braised Radish, asparagus.


Enjoy,
Gary

*Make fun if you will, but this is a damn good recipe. Though I should add I slightly decreased the sugar, slightly increased the red wine vinegar and cooked the liquid down to a syrupy consistency.

Gary,

Nice looking platter there! A question: whence did you get your verjuice?

*

Make fun if you will...... Very tempting, you know...
Regarding Rhaychill Rheaij (old habits die hard), I just hope she didn't act as if the idea of cooking radishes were one of her very own brilliant innovations (alongside the 'stoop', perhaps? ). The person who invented leavened bread, pesto and grilled meats, Martha Stewart, did that a number of years back. And in fact...

Antonius

Antonius wrote:Nice looking platter there! A question: whence did you get your verjuice?

Antonius,

Fox and Obel. They had two brands, Maggie Beer from Pheasant Farms Vineyards in Australia and one from California. There were also two kinds, white and red verjus. I bought Maggie Beer Sangiovese Verjuice which was $10, I think, for 375ml.

I called Sam's, which said they had verjus, but only one brand/type, which I believe was French red.

Enjoy,
Gary