Skate with brown butter

Every so often we rent a car and make a pilgrimage out to Costco and Fresh Farms to stock up on supplies and fun, interesting seafood. Fresh Farms always seems to have a good selection of seafood, and this time was no different. I spotted skate, for a fabulous $2.99/lb, and we couldn't resist. I'd had skate once before in Normandy and fondly remembered it to be a tasty meal. Skate is a cartilaginous fish, related to rays, so it has a somewhat different texture and feel than regular fish. We were excited at the prospect of a culinary adventure (not to mention a bargain-price meal, at $2.81 for the two of us).

Recipe

Serves 21 pound of skate wings1/3 cup flour3 tbsp butter1/2 cup white wine2 tbsp chopped fresh parsleysalt and pepperLightly salt and pepper the skate wing. Dredge the skate in seasoned flour and shake off excess. Heat pan over medium-high heat and add half the butter. Fry in butter over medium heat, about 2-3 minutes per side. Remove the skate wings to warm oven and add in the remainder of butter to the pan. Cook butter over medium heat until light brown. Add the wine and scrape up any bits that may have stuck to the bottom of the pan. Let the sauce reduce and stir in the parsley before serving. Spoon sauce over skate wings.

Musings

All in all, for a bold new food type, it turned out well! The skate was tender and flavourful without being over-powering. The sauce was buttery and nutty and paired well with the fish. A side of creamy mashed potatoes were also a plus. There are probably a multitude of ways we could have prepared it, but in our search for recipes, some of the common denominators were dredging the skate first, a browned butter sauce and, interestingly enough, capers. But I think this recipe choice was definitely a delicious choice, and we even have enough for leftovers.