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Pan fried fish with lemon & herb butter sauce

September 17, 2013
by Chelsea Winter
fish recipe, snapper recipe, terakihi recipe
18 Comments

Fish with herb sauce

Pan fried fish with herb butter sauce & crispy capers

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When you have beautiful, fresher than fresh terakihi or snapper, it’s tempting to cook it with nothing but a bit of butter and lemon (that was our breakfast staple during our summer holidays at Great Barrier when I was growing up!) Sometimes, though, it’s nice to do something a little fancier – and if you’re entertaining, and this recipe is perfect. The fish is still the star of the show, but I’ve added a few lovely fresh flavours to take it from an everyday dish to something special. As always, it’s quick and easy to prepare – just don’t overcook the fish, the quality of the dish relies on it! This goes perfectly with a fresh green salad, or green beans in winter. Serves 4 .

Ingredients

4 large or 6 medium terakihi fillets (or use snapper)
1 tbsp cornflour
¼ cup capers, drained
Neutral oil (such as canola or rice bran), for frying

Sauce
50g butter
½ cup finely chopped fresh herbs – parsley, dill, basil, chives
1 clove garlic, crushed
Zest of 1 lemon
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

Method

Heat 1cm of neutral oil in a very small frying pan or saucepan over a high heat. Add the drained capers and fry for a few minutes until the capers puff up and open out. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

Heat the butter over a medium-low heat and add the garlic. Cook gently for 5 minutes or so, but don’t brown the garlic. Add the lemon juice and zest and keep warm.

Season the fish with salt and pepper, then dust with cornflour (you can dredge it on a plate or shake in a bag). Shake off the excess.

Heat 1 tbsp oil and 2 tbsp butter in a large frying pan over a fairly high heat. When the pan is hot and the butter foams, place a couple of fish fillets in the pan. Turn them over carefully only when the underside is golden brown, then cook on the other side for a minute or so – you actually want the fish to be only just undercooked when you take it out of the pan (it will finish cooking out of the pan). Rest the fish lightly covered with foil on a warm plate while you cook the rest (for best results, wipe out the pan and add a little more butter and oil for each batch of fish).

When you’re ready to serve, add the fresh herbs to the lemony butter and mix to combine, then taste and season with salt and pepper if need be.

Serve the fish on top of crispy baked or boiled potatoes, and spoon the herb sauce over top. Sprinkle with some fried capers. Serve with a salad or steamed veges.

About the Author
These days, when I’m not writing cookbooks and dashing around the country doing foodie things, I spend most of my time gangling around in my little kitchen, creating new and exciting recipes to inspire home cooks, like you.
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18 Comments
  1. Vicki McPherson June 16, 2014 at 9:20 am Reply
    Hi Chelsea I'm new to your website and have to say I'm hooked! Made this tonight and it was yum yum! Loved the sauce with the fried capers and the crispy potatoes went down a treat with the kids! Is nice to be inspired again when I cook! Thank you!
  2. Cherry July 26, 2014 at 9:15 am Reply
    Stunning! Made this tonight with blue cod & it was so good. Loved that the sauce didn't dominate the great flavour of the fish. Will be making again. Thank you
  3. Mandy September 14, 2014 at 12:00 am Reply
    I'm having issues locating fresh herbs at the supermarket/asian grocery stores, can i use dried herbs as an alternative? Will this alter the taste? Thanks :)
    • Chelsea Winter September 14, 2014 at 9:02 am Reply
      In a pinch, it's fine to used dried!
  4. Kelly February 16, 2015 at 10:57 pm Reply
    So simple but so delicious! Thankyou for sharing this Chels
  5. best hotel management colleges in Kolkata May 20, 2015 at 7:14 am Reply
    This looks quite fabulous! And with all those flavors, I can imagine it would be beautifully fragrant and tasty too :)
  6. Anna July 28, 2015 at 1:37 am Reply
    A friend recommended this recipe to me and I made it last night with some fresh terakihi fillets from the Marlborough Sounds. We loved the fresh flavours, so delicious and a really nice change from our usual battered or crumbed fish. Thanks Chelsea, yet another winner!
  7. Andrea August 8, 2015 at 6:16 am Reply
    So simple. Absolutely nommy, lemony and buttery. I had this for dinner tonight with gurnard. I looked up the recipe at 5:00pm and sure enough I already had all the ingredients (That's Chelsea!) and viola dinner on the table for the family in no time. Had it with baked potatoes and coleslaw. xoxo
    • Chelsea Winter August 15, 2015 at 5:08 am Reply
      Thanks Andrea - just super to hear :)
  8. Jen September 8, 2016 at 6:39 am Reply
    I cooked this recipe tonight, my hubby & I loved it. We will be having this again real soon, so delicious & easy.
  9. Jacob Parkes January 5, 2017 at 5:57 am Reply
    Spot on recipe, We used Almond Meal instead of the cornflower and it was delicious :)
  10. Charlene January 17, 2017 at 11:46 pm Reply
    AMAZING recipe, so simple but extremely tasty and healthy too. Im a huge fan!
  11. Kate January 24, 2017 at 1:20 am Reply
    Such a great recipe (as always) thanks Chelsea! I've made this several times now and love doing it when people are coming over as it is so easy to pre prepare everything so I can spend time with my guests and not be stressing in the kitchen!!
  12. Shelly September 24, 2017 at 1:56 am Reply
    Duck fried Potatoes & Chatham island blue cod was our Sunday family meal my young adult will always be back home for a meal with this recipe. Thanks
  13. Buzz December 26, 2017 at 12:40 am Reply
    Great Boxing Day lunch with coleslaw, potato and bean salads and corn on the cob.
  14. Rose May 1, 2018 at 6:51 am Reply
    Fabulous - absolutely, I love tarakihi but this lifts it to another level. Thank you Chelsea - it’s a keeper!
  15. Bridgette March 6, 2019 at 12:12 am Reply
    Made this last night with Barramundi - its now my kids new favourite dish , yumm great recipe.
  16. Margaret January 23, 2020 at 7:03 am Reply
    So simple, but so tasty.

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