Creamy Flatfish With Boiled and Fried Potatoes
This recipe is one of our oldest ones. It's also one of our favorites ones. That's why we really had to "facelift" this post with new text and photos, and share it again with all of you, in case you missed it back in the early days of our blog.
You really don't want to miss this recipe; the taste of the fish is enriched by a creamy French-style sauce, and the side is butter and olive oil flavored boiled and fried potatoes which are amazingly combined with the fish!
Some people are not used to combining cream and fish (in Greece at least we don't use cream in fish dishes) but the French tried it in their cuisine and the result has proved them right! Especially in this recipe, where the cream gets all the flavors from caramelized onions and wine.
The fish we suggest using in this recipe is small flatfish fillets, which are cooked quickly. Make sure you use thin flatfish fillets; this way they'll cook fast and the onions -which are cooking right under the fish- won't be overcooked.
This isn't a hard to follow recipe. But it takes a bit of preparation, so it's great if you want to serve this in any special occasion like Valentine's, Anniversaries etc. Pair this dish with a high quality white wine and you really can't fail.
The recipe has basically 3 phases. The 1st phase is boiling the potatoes. The 2nd phase is cooking the fish. When the fish is ready, you keep the it warm, and move to phase 3 which is frying the boiled potatoes, enhancing them with butter, olive oil, salt, pepper and good quality dry oregano. Then, you simply serve the fish (you can also warm up the creamy sauce) and the butter-fried potatoes.
It's important to serve this dish warm, so either serve it right away, or make sure to keep the fish and the potatoes warm (the sauce can easily be warmed up before serving). You can achieve this by wrapping the fish and potatoes in aluminum foil right after you remove them from the pan, and keep them in the oven at 60 degrees Celsius/140 Fahrenheit.
Give it a try, and we bet you'll be cooking this again again even though it takes a bit of preparation like we said:) Its creamy deliciousness combines heavenly with the boiled and fried potatoes!
- 500gr/17.5oz/1.1lb flatfish fillets (preferably small soles/flounders)
- 500gr/17.5oz/1.1lb potatoes (2 medium sized), cut in small pieces
- 1 large onion (200gr/7oz), cut into slices
- 5 tablespoons (100-120gr/3.5-4.2oz) of butter
- 1 cup (250ml) cream (30% fat)
- 1 cup (250ml) white wine
- salt and pepper
- a little finely chopped parsley for serving
For the potatoes
- 50gr/1.7oz (2-3 tablespoons) butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons dry oregano
- a pinch of dry thyme (optional)
- salt and pepper
Preparation:
Peel and cut the potatoes in 6-8 pieces each (pic. 1, pic. 2). Boil the pieces in slightly salted water for 15 minutes (use a medium sized pot).
Drain them and set aside.
Dry the fish fillet using some kitchen paper and sprinkle with salt. Put the butter in a large frying pan, on medium to high heat. Add the onion (pic. 3) and cook until it becomes translucent (pic. 4), about 3-4 minutes.
Add the fillets on top of the onions (pic. 5) and lower the heat to medium. Cook for 4 minutes without stirring. Then carefully turn the fillets to the other side (pic. 6) and continue cooking for 3 minutes more.
Pour the wine, and increase the heat to medium-high. Cook for 3 minutes, tilting slightly the pan from time to time, in a circular motion, until most of the moisture is evaporated. Remove the fish and keep warm. Leave the onions in the pan.
Add the cream (pic. 7) and cook for 3-4 minutes until it thickens. You can leave the sauce in the pan, in order to warm it up again before serving.
Proceed with frying the potatoes:
Put the butter and the olive oil in a large frying pan, and put it on medium to high heat. When the oil and butter are hot, add the potatoes, the oregano, the thyme, salt and pepper.
Cook for 7-8 minutes, stirring frequently using quick motions. The potatoes are ready when their surface becomes golden brown (pic 8).
Serve the flatfish in a large plate with the creamy sauce on top and the butter-fried potatoes on the side. Sprinkle the fish with parsley. It really makes a difference. Bon appetit!
1. Use a large spatula to turn the fillets on their other side. Be careful not to break them (unless the looks don't matter that much to you) :)
If you don't feel confident enough, try cutting the fillers in smaller, easier to handle pieces and/or use lower temperature (which will increase the cooking time)
2. Use a good, heavy nonstick frying pan for the fish.
3. In case you'll serve this a bit later: keep the fish and the potatoes warm in the oven (60 degrees Celsius/140 Fahrenheit), wrapped in aluminum foil right after you remove them from the pan.
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