Fish bites with mandarin cream.
A delicate yet easy second course to make with any type of sliced or filleted fish.
We will coat the bites with a breading of orange zest and flour, and you can use either wheat or almond flour.
We will then cook the fish in a pan for a few minutes with a bit of butter, and then create a mandarin cream in the same pan to complete the cooking.
All finished with a mandarin juice drizzle.
You can also replace the mandarin juice with orange or lemon juice, but if they’re too sour, you should dilute them with water.
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- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Slow heat
- Cuisine: Regional Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
Let’s go shopping to make the
- 1.3 lbs salmon fillets (or other fish of choice)
- 1 cup mandarin juice (strained)
- 3 mandarin zest
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (or almond flour)
- 4 tbsps butter
- to taste roast seasonings (for fish)
- to taste salt
- to taste pepper
- 1.25 cups water (approx.)
a nod to health
Tools
What we need to make the
- 1 Knife
- 1 Grater
- 1 Pan
- 2 Bowls
- 1 Casserole Dish
Steps
Let’s cook the
With the grater or food processor, chop the mandarin zest, and add it to the flour,
along with some seasonings, a pinch of salt and 1 of black pepper. Mix it all.
And transfer the mandarin flour into a bowl
If the fish has bones or skin, remove them. I used swordfish and imperial needlefish, but you can use any type of fish.
Coat the fish pieces on all sides, pressing to make sure the breading adheres well to the flesh.
In a pan, place some of the butter and heat over low heat.
Cook the fish pieces for 1 minute per side, we’re just doing a quick cook, then…
set them aside in a casserole dish, and complete all the fish, adding more butter if needed.
Once the fish is pre-cooked, in the same pan without washing it, add the remaining butter, let it melt, add the remaining mandarin flour, and make a roux,
which means we’re making a sort of bechamel sauce without milk. As soon as the roux is ready, gradually add about 1 1/4 cups of water,
bring to a boil, stirring for 1 minute, then…
add the fish, lower the heat and finish cooking the bites for 2 minutes per side.
After the time has elapsed, adjust the salt and pepper, and drizzle with mandarin juice.
Sprinkle with chopped parsley and a dash of pepper, and serve hot.
The Fish Bites with Mandarin Cream are ready.
Storage notes and variations
Fish Bites with Mandarin Cream.
Storage: you can store the dish in the fridge for up to 2 days and then heat it in the microwave or oven.
Notes: never cook the mandarin juice, otherwise the sauce would turn bitter.
Variations: as mentioned above, you can use any type of fish, in bite-size or fillets, and you can use any type of citrus; for lemon or orange, the juice should be diluted with water.
