Title: Baked Basa with Herbes de Provence and Capers

Baked Basa with Herbes de Provence

with Capers and Anchovy Butter

Basa is a recent food product. I believe it's a farmed fish.

Yield: 2 servings
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Category: Main Dish
Cuisine: French

Ingredients


12 ozs. basa fillet
1 tbs. capers
2 tsp. anchovy butter
1 tbs olive oil
1 tbs butter
1 tsp herbes de provence, heaping
2 tbs. lemon juice
1 clove of garlic, whole, peeled
1/4 tsp. salt
1 pinch black pepper



Instructions

Remove fish from 'frig 20 minutes before cooking time. Cut the lemon in half.  Rub both side of fish with a few drops of lemon juice. This will prevent the fish from easily breaking during serving. Sprinkle the fish with salt and pepper and the herbes de provence. Oil the cooking utensil with the olive oil. Bake the fish at 425 degrees for 10 minutes.

During the 10 minutes the fish is baking, heat a small utensil and melt the butter and anchovy butter  together. Add the capers and hear them sizzle. Add the garlic clove and cook until it colors a little.
Cover and reserve.

Place the fish and pour the sauce over the fish. Serve while hot. Serve on warmed plates.

Fish Tips - The Old Ways Are The Best Ways -

I have some frozen Swai fillets in the freezer. Swai is a whitefish. (You know who you are.) And I grabbed a cookery "bible" The Gold Cook Book by Master Chef Louis P. De Gouy (New York : Chilton Company, 1960)

De Gouy was the Chef-de-Cuisine at the Waldorf-Astoria for thirty years. As such he was a classically trained cook. Enough qualifying this guy. His cookbook is an excellent starting point for any recipe or ingredient.

On page 233 of my book, starts his Tips for cooking fish, which I reproduce here, for added posterity.

DO dip the fish in salted milk, then in (saltine) crumbs or fine corn meal for deep frying fish.

DO rub lemon juice over fish before broiling, baking or simmering it. This adds flavor, retains a fresh color and prevents the fish from falling apart as it cooks.

DO dip your fingers in salt when cleaning fish. This makes the fish easier to handle.

DO add a little vinegar (or lemon juice) to the water when simmering fish. This prevents the fish from separating.

DO add a tablespoon of lemon juice, sherry wine, or tarragon vinegar, to the egg in which the fish is dipped before frying.

DO shake a little salt into the heated oil that the fish will be pan fried in, and the fish will have a better flavor.

DO thoroughly dry fish for frying crisp. Sprinkle both sides with plenty of (highly) seasoned flour and plunge into the boiling fat.

DON'T leave fish, except salted cod or other salted fish, in water; it extracts flavor and makes the fish flabby.

Here is a picture of some swai fillets. I like fish seasoned and cooked as simply as possible. I will sprinkle these fillets with a little salt and (commercial) Lemon Pepper. Then they will be fried for a total of 8 minutes (or maybe 7 minutes) in olive oil. A baked potato, sour cream, chives and a salad finish the plate.



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