Lisa's Dinnertime Dish for Great Recipes!

On Sunday afternoon, I was looking through some recipes and I came across a Rachael Ray recipe for piccata-style fish. It sounded really tasty and I already had most of the ingredients. So off I went to the store, first to the mall (a girls gotta go shopping every once in a while) and then to the grocery store for some tilapia.

I have had veal and chicken piccata before, but never fish piccata. But fish and lemon, I mean they just go together, so I thought it had to be good. There wasn’t too much prepping, either. The only things that needed chopping were the garlic and the parsley and then just a few other things to get ready. And it was a good thing I had everything ready before I started cooking because it cooked up FAST! I had to get Steve and Alex involved to get everything on the table at the same time. So Steve threw the salad together and Alex broiled some multi-grain garlic bread.

Alex working on his garlic bread. It was good!

Once we got everthing on the table, it was delicious. The fish was nice and flaky and it had a nice lemon flavor, it was not over-powering at all. I will definitely make this one again!

Piccata-Style Fish with Pasta

From Rachael Ray

salt and pepper
8 oz thin spaghetti (I used whole wheat)
Old Bay seasoning
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup corn starch
2 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp butter
2 large clove of garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup white wine
2 lemons, zest and juice one and thinly slice the other
1/4 cup drained capers (I only used about 2 tbsp)
a handful of flat-leaf parlsey, finely chopped

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt it, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain, reserving about 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water.

Meanwhile, pat the fish dry and season with salt, pepper and a little Old Bay.

On a plate, mix the flour and cornstarch. Coat the fish in the flour mixture.

Make sure the rest of your ingredients are out and ready to go. I find it helpful to put each ingredient in a small bowl and then put them right by the stove.

Here we go, we’re ready to cook! In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 turn of the pan, over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons butter and let it foam up, then add the fish fillets and cook, turning once, until golden-brown and firm, 3 minutes on each side. Transfer the fillets to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.

Wipe out the pan and return to the heat. Add 1/2 tablespoon olive oil, 1/2 turn of the pan, and the remaining 2 tablespoons butter to melt. Stir in the garlic for 1 minute, then stir in the wine for another minute. Add 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel and the juice of 1 lemon. Thinly slice the remaining lemon and stir the slices into the sauce, along with the capers and parsley. Spoon the sliced lemons and half of the butter sauce over the fish. (Sadly, I have no photos for this, I was so busy cooking, I forgot that I was supposed to be taking pictures, too.)

Add the reserved pasta water and the pasta to the skillet. Add the remaining butter sauce and season with salt and pepper; toss. Transfer the pasta to a platter.