After a morning interview and an afternoon spent scouring Circuit City closeout sales, I was tired and not in a mood to cook. On my way home, I stopped at the Grand Central Market to pick up ingredients for a quick-and-dirty dinner that I figured wouldn't be worth posting about.
After a brief scan through one of my favorite markets in Manhattan, I ended up with skate, tarragon, sausage, and sauerkraut. The thought at the time was that I could fry up the skate or grill the sausages and pair either with some potatoes I recalled having at home. I'm not sure if it was sweltering heat in the subway or the exhaustion setting in, but sausages seemed very unappetizing by the time I got home, so I decided to do something with the skate.
Skate is a type of fish that is in the same class as sharks, having a similar flat appearance to rays (as in stingrays). The parts you eat are the wings on either side of the body, which have a very distinctive segmented appearance and a texture similar to chicken when cooked. Because the fillets are so thin, they cook very quickly so it's important to fry them in a very hot pan to get a nice brown crust without over-cooking them.
Rummaging through the fridge, I found a few Cipollini onions rolling around in the veggie drawer as well as a half bulb of fennel that had seen better days. Unfortunately there was nary a potato to be found. For a brief moment I started to panic, picturing the meager portion of skate on the plate devoid of any starch. I could have made pasta, but I was hungry and the whole boiling and draining thing seemed like more of a fuss that I was prepared to handle. Scanning the kitchen, my eye caught a glimpse of a gold and green bag of masa harina sitting on the counter. Tortillas would have been an odd pairing, but I started to wonder what kind of porridge the lime treated and finely ground corn would produce.
As it turns out, masa harina makes a fantastic porridge that's much smoother and creamier than polenta, closer in color and texture to cream of wheat, but with the mild creamy flavour of corn. All I did was whisk some masa harina into a 50/50 mix of chicken stock and soy milk with a pinch of salt. As it's heated, it starts thickening and the viscosity can be adjusted by cooking longer to thicken or adding more stock to thin.
Despite my every intention to make a quick simple meal, this turned into something rich and elegant that looked and tasted impressive, making it equally suited for a dinner party or a weeknight meal. The browned skate fillet is topped with onions and fennel that have been braised in wine and stock and finished with a tarragon beurre blanc. The flavours and textures all played very nicely together with juxtaposing creamy, tangy, salty and sweet elements with the fresh anisey tarragon providing some contrast both visually and on the palette.
Wine pairing: 2006 J Chardonnay (Russian River). A satiny smooth chardonnay with caramel and citrus on the nose and apples and lemon on the palette. With its round tannins and hint of oak, it made for a perfect addition to the sauce and an even better accompaniment to the finished dish.
📖 Recipe
Units
Ingredients
- 6 onions whole Cipollini peeled
- ½ fennel bulb of sliced thin
- ½ cups white wine round (I used a 2006 J cupshardonnay)
- ½ cups low sodium chicken stock
- honey (if needed)
- to taste salt pepper and
- 2 - 3 tablespoons cultured unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons tarragon
- ½ lemon
- 2 skate fillets
Instructions
- Heat a non-reactive pan over medium heat and add a splash of olive oil. Swirl to coat, then add the fennel and whole onions. Brown each side of the onions being careful not to burn the fennel.
- Add the wine and allow it to boil until there is almost no liquid left. This burns off the alcohol and allows the flavor of the wine to concentrate before we add more liquid.
- Add the chicken stock and continue to boil until the liquid is reduced by half.
- While the sauce is reducing, rub the skate with olive oil then lightly salt and pepper both sides.
- Heat a cast iron skillet skillet over medium high heat until very hot. Lay the fillets in the pan and allow them to lightly brown on one side then use a thin long spatula to flip them over.
- When the sauce has reduced by half, whisk in 2-3 tablespoons of butter then salt and pepper to taste. Depending on the type of wine you used, the sauce may be a little tart. By adding honey you can balance out the the tartness with the sweetness from the honey. Finish the sauce by adding the tarragon and a squeeze of lemon.
- Plate the skate fillets then top with the braised onions, fennel and sauce.
Sophie says
MMMMM...this dish looks wonderful! I just love skate!! In Belgium, in Dutch, we call it ; ROG! MMMMM....
Megan says
I LOVE skate. It is one of my favorite kinds of fish for sure. I like your combination of Cipollinis and fennel - sounds delicious.
Sophie says
MMMMM...this dish looks wonderful! I just love skate!! In Belgium, in Dutch, we call it ; ROG! MMMMM....
Laura @ Hungry and Frozen says
I'm pretty sure only you could set out for a quick and dirty dinner (mine would be beans on toast or ice cream or something) and come out with this elegant fandango. I absolutely love fennel but it just will not go down in price here!
Megan says
I LOVE skate. It is one of my favorite kinds of fish for sure. I like your combination of Cipollinis and fennel - sounds delicious.
Laura @ Hungry and Frozen says
I'm pretty sure only you could set out for a quick and dirty dinner (mine would be beans on toast or ice cream or something) and come out with this elegant fandango. I absolutely love fennel but it just will not go down in price here!
Lark Logan says
Oh, I miss living in NYC where you can easily find things like skate! In Richmond, VA, it is a challenge.
I just discovered your blog today and I'm hooked. You describe food beautifully. I'm in love 🙂
Sandy says
Love what you came up with for the masa! I'm a huge polenta fan and never thought of trying it with masa, so now I can't wait. Beautiful pics, too.
Stacey Snacks says
Marc,
I have never made skate at home, but order it when we go to a bistro type of place.
I always love it.
Lark Logan says
Oh, I miss living in NYC where you can easily find things like skate! In Richmond, VA, it is a challenge.
I just discovered your blog today and I'm hooked. You describe food beautifully. I'm in love 🙂
Sandy says
Love what you came up with for the masa! I'm a huge polenta fan and never thought of trying it with masa, so now I can't wait. Beautiful pics, too.
Stacey Snacks says
Marc,
I have never made skate at home, but order it when we go to a bistro type of place.
I always love it.
Kathy Stroup says
Skate wings! I picked some up randomly at the Wharf when I lived in Monterey, many years ago. Not nice fillets like that, but the whole pair of wings. I ended up making skate wing tacos with them; so good with nixtamalized corn! Back then I would bring fish home, break out the cookbooks, browse the recipes, then put them back and do my own thing. I learned a lot about fish living so close to the wharf.
Marc Matsumoto says
Wow another ancient post! That's awesome that you shop outside your comfort zone. I used to really enjoy buying random things I've never cooked before (so many fish here that I've never seen before), but lately most of my shopping is directed at recipe development so I haven't been able to do it much (though I did see a banana flower the other day that took a lot of restraint not to buy). Hopefully things settle down enough when I get back from the US that I can start being more creative again.