A Restaurant Quality meal you can make at home!
Featuring Pistachio Crusted Fish with a Grapefruit-Butter Sauce and Composed Grapefruit Salad
You’ll love this salad: See the linked Salad Recipe: Composed Grapefruit Salad with Ginger-Grapefruit Vinaigrette
Try it on top of the pistachio-crusted fish.. or by itself!
“Suprême” refers to the classic culinary technique of removing the flesh of citrus from the pith ~ the layers in between citrus segments.
Cut away the grapefruit peel with a small sharp knife to serrated knife. Go a layer deeper and remove all white pith, revealing just the ruby red grapefruit. Next, cut between each membrane section to release the grapefruit segment. Place each segment on a plate and continue with all segments. Each grapefruit is unique ~ I had 11 segments.
Beurre Blanc:
Somewhere in the early 20th century a chef by the name of Clémence Lefeuvre, in a village nearby Nantes, France, was supposedly making a béarnaise sauce for fish. Somehow she forgot to include the eggs and serendipitously created a beurre blanc. The new sauce was a hit and a classic was born!
The creamy mashed, softened garlic is added to the top of the fillets so the pistachios will adhere and stay in place.
You do not need a culinary degree to make a restaurant-quality meal at home!
Gathering great quality ingredients is a must, and mastering a technique from a well written recipe is a plus.
Fish is a wonderful main course to make – its rewards are pretty immediate – a fish fillet takes only minutes to prepare.
I like to choose accessories like a beautiful vintage platter, colorful plates to set the ambience.
We all “eat with our eyes” ~ so even at home, at mid-week, the dish needs to have some visual appeal!
Colorful ingredients rack up extra nutrition – this dish certainly excels on that front.
Yes – You can use another fish fillet!
Other good choices would be ~ Red Snapper, Black Sea Bass, Striped Bass or Rainbow Trout.
These fishes are firm enough to stand up to grilling in the pan.
See my Category: Zesty Citrus Recipes for more exciting, zesty recipes!
Enjoy this dish, for a weeknight meal or special occasion… maybe Valentine’s Day! 🙂
Karen
Pistachio Crusted Branzino with Grapefruit Salad
Equipment
- 1 cast iron skillet 12 - 14"
- 1 small 1 cup sauce pan I use enamel coated cast iron
Ingredients
For the Pistachio Crusted Fish:
- 2 whole branzino fish fillets , or red snapper* - 3/4 pound
- few pinches sea salt & freshly cracked pepper, I use Himalayan pink salt
- 4 cloves softened garlic , mashed (see recipe below)
- 2 tablespoons shelled pistachios, coarsely chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, coarsely chopped
- 1 1/2 teaspoon neutral oil, such as safflower oil
Grapefruit Butter Sauce:
- 2 1/2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, divided, I use organic
- 3/4 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon grated or minced garlic
- 1 big pinch red pepper flakes, I use Szechuan chili flakes
- 3 tablespoons red grapefruit juice, freshly squeezed
- 1/4 teaspoon pure cane sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt , I use Himalayan pink salt
Instructions
Start the Grapefruit Butter Sauce:
- Start with the butter sauce ~ Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a small non-reactive 1 cup heavy pot. Add ginger, garlic and chili flakes. Bring to a simmer and turn off to blend flavors. (Will finish sauce after fish cooks.)
Pistachio Crusted Fish:
- Salt and pepper both sides of the fillet. Leave to stand 20 minutes at room temperature (helps so the fish does not curl while cooking.)Add 1 1/2 teaspoons oil to a skillet and raise heat to medium- high. Add fish, skin side UP and cook one minute until a touch golden.Turn the fillets over, press down with spatula for a few seconds so the fish does not curl.
- Quickly add the mashed softened garlic - and smooth over both fillets. Top evenly with pistachios and press down to adhere. Sprinkle thyme on top.
- Cook until the fish is firm and cooked through, about 4 minutes. I did not need to cover as the fish was not too thick.
Finish Grapefruit Butter Sauce:
- Heat the butter sauce in the pot, bring to a simmer. Add the grapefruit juice, sugar and sea salt. Reduce over low-medium heat until reduced by half.Take off heat - add the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons cold butter and swirl in with a fork. Taste for seasonings.
Finish and Enjoy:
- Place each fillet on a dinner plate. Pour butter sauce a bit on top and around.Top with a supreme grapefruit slice - or top with a portion of my Grapefruit Salad with Ginger-Grapefruit Vinaigrette.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made this Branzino recipe last night for company. Big hit! Was light and tasteful. I finished the sauce after the fish cooked and just before serving. I started the grapefruit salad ahead of time and this added so much to the dish. My friends commented was restaurant quality and I agree! 5 stars.
Thank you Lucia for writing, and letting me know the recipe was a hit! Appreciated! 😀Karen
Genius recipe. Light and so tasty. Made twice, once with the grapefruit salad and once pistachio branzino. Let me say the softened garlic really woks here as helps pistachio sticks. My go to fish recipe.
Well thank you Darren for the compliment, happy to hear it is your go to fish recipe! This is one of my favorite recipes! Made last night with mashed potato & celery root and fat asparagus spears.
😀Karen