Fish Piccata With Crispy Smashed Potatoes (15 Minute Meal)

Dinner is made in minutes! Pan-fried fish with a lemon sauce, asparagus, and crisp mashed potatoes. Fish Piccata has a buttery, zesty taste and bright flavours. If you are creative, you’ll be amazed at what you can create in just 15 minutes.

I enjoy cooking and eating. If I’m not in the kitchen, I am probably watching a cooking program, talking about or arguing about food, reading a book, or planning my next dinner.

I guess that I am a foodie.

Even though I love to cook, I’m not a very energetic person. I also don’t like to spend hours in the kitchen just to prepare supper on a weekday. While I love to cook, my true nature is lazy ….oops! I meant to write that I enjoy being efficient. My recipe ideas are mostly geared towards quick meals. Made from scratch. Always make from scratch! I was raised to believe that packet mixes and canned soup are bad, and I can’t break that habit. My mother was very good at brainwashing me.

You can use frozen fish, but I recommend fresh fish whenever possible. It is better to use fresh .” for flash-fried fish.

This is my go-to fast food. Fish Piccata, although simple to make, is delicious. The Sauce is created by deglazing a pan with wine. (Yes, you will need to sacrifice some of your evening wine in order to make this meal.) This allows the brown bits from the pan that were left over after cooking the fish to mix with the wine and become the “stock” used for the Sauce. The flour used to coat the fish thickens up the Sauce. Finish it with some lemon juice and butter. ).

Even though I haven’t changed my recipe for years, I still find myself looking at other Fish Piccata Recipes. Many of the recipes I’ve seen are too lemony or sour to my taste. Mine is much milder. Recently, I posted a chicken recipe that was similarly mild in terms of spice. You can increase the amount of lemon juice if you prefer a stronger lemon flavour.

The Sauce is not too lemony or sour. Piccatas often contain too much lemon .”

If you are going to pan-fry fish, I recommend that you use fresh fillets of fish rather than frozen, especially if it is white fish (although salmon and trout also freeze well). You can certainly use frozen fillets, as I have done. Today’s frozen fish is of excellent quality.

The fish is served with crispy smashed potatoes, which are made in a flash by heating them in the microwave and breaking them. The fish is pan-fried with them to get crispy. Another shortcut is to braise the beans as I deglaze the pan. You can also steam the asparagus, but I prefer the flavour that is added to the asparagus when it’s braised in the Sauce.

We’d love to know if you try it! If you have questions, please leave them in the comment section below. I will be happy to answer.

Enjoy your cooking!

– Nagi

Fish Piccata with Crispy Smashed potatoes (15 Minute Meal).

RecipeTin Eats Prep: 5 minutes mins Cook: 10 minutes mins Total: 15 minutes mins It’s amazing what you can make in 15 minutes (from scratch) if you get a bit creative! This can be made with either fresh or frozen fish of good quality. These were made with beans, but I also made them with broccolini and asparagus. You can use any vegetable you like as long as it cooks quickly in a saucepan with just a little braising liquid.

Ingredients

# Two pieces of firm white fish (around 150-200g / 5- 7 oz) (with or without skin, as you choose) (see note)
▢ 6 new potatoes (about golf ball size)
▢ 7 oz / 200 g green beans, trimmed
▢ 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
▢ 2 tbsp olive oil
▢ 3 tbsp of plain flour
▢ 1 tsp of salt
▢ Black pepper

Sauce

▢ White wine – 1/3 cup
▢ Half a cup of water
▢ Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice, depending on your taste.
▢ 2 tablespoons butter
▢ 1 tbsp Baby Capers (canned).
▢ Salt and pepper

Cook Mode: Stop the screen from sleeping

Instructions

The potatoes should be cooked in the microwave oven for 2 minutes. Then, turn them and cook them for 1 1/2 to 2 more minutes. Squeezing the potatoes will tell you if they’re ready. You are going to smash them regardless, so don’t worry about the skin bursting.
Use the side edge of a meat mallet, a knife or your hand (covered in a dishcloth) to flatten each potato. You want it to be about 1.5cm/0.5″ thick and have a flattish top. Sprinkle with salt.
On a separate plate, mix flour, pepper, and salt. Dredge both sides of the fish in the mixture, shaking off any excess flour.
Heat the olive oil in a non-stick pan on high heat. Place the fish and potatoes into the pan. To crisp the potatoes, lightly press them down with a spatula.
After cooking the first side for 2 minutes until golden brown, turn the fish and potato over. Make sure that the potatoes are crispy and brown.
Then cook the other side for 1 1/2 minutes (also refer to the notes on fish cooking times). Remove the fish from the pan and place it on a plate. Cover loosely with aluminium foil.
Remove the potatoes from the pan after another 30 to 1 minute of browning and crisping.
Reduce the heat to medium-high.
Add the wine and water. Mix in the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the beans when the liquid reaches a rapid simmer.
To ensure that the beans are cooked evenly, shake the pan periodically. Cook the beans for approximately 1 1/2 minutes in the liquid until they are “tender crispy” (i.e. Remove the beans from the pan when they are cooked but crisp. If you find that the liquid is reducing too much when cooking the beans, add some water.
Remove the pan from heat. When you have removed the beans from the pan, the Sauce should only be left on the bottom—it shouldn’t even cover the entire bottom.
Add the lemon juice, then stir in the butter and capers. Add salt and pepper to taste.

To Serve

Place three potatoes and half of the beans onto each plate. Add a fish piece to the top. Pour the Sauce over each fish and sprinkle with parsley. Serve immediately.

Recipe Notes

1. In Australia, baby potatoes are known as chat potatoes. In the US, I believe they’re called new potatoes. You can use any potato you like. You can use any type of potato you want; make sure they are starchy potatoes for roasting or mashing (that become fluffy when cooked) and not waxy ones for boiling (that retain their shape). 2. You can use either fresh or frozen fish of good quality. The fish should be completely thawed before cooking. 3. The time required to cook the fish depends on the thickness of your fillet. You can check if you’re not sure by gently pushing some fish flakes away from the centre of the fillet. Remember that the fish continues to cook as it rests! If you cook fish right out of the refrigerator, it takes a bit longer to cook compared to fish cooked at room temperature. This nutrition analysis does not seem to be accurate. The nutrition calculator has come up with a nutritional value for what I believe to be a balanced meal.