Herb-Broiled Fish with Charred Lemon Rouille
15min
30min
2
Main
French
The lemon sauce adds a citrusy touch to this herb-broiled fish dish. Rich, buttery sablefish are sweet and nutty but any rich and fatty fish, especially black sea bass and salmon would be equally delicious. Broilers can vary in intensity, so keep a close eye to avoid scorching. You can move the rack slightly lower if the bay leaves are burning before the fish is cooked through.
Ingredients
1 lemon, scrubbed and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 small garlic clove, grated
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Salt and freshly ground pepper
6 fresh thyme sprigs
2 (6 to 7 ounce) sablefish fillets
6 small bay leaves
Steamed green beans and buttery potatoes for serving
Directions
Make the Rouille
Preheat the broiler and position a rack about 8-inches from the heat source.
In a small roasting pan or baking dish, arrange the lemon slices in a single layer and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the oil. Broil the lemons until lightly charred in spots, 8 to 10 minutes.
Transfer 2 lemon slices to a cutting board and finely chop, removing any pits that you may come across. Transfer the minced lemon to a small bowl and stir in the mayonnaise, garlic, and cayenne and season with salt and pepper.
Broil the Fish and Serve
Scatter the thyme sprigs over the remaining lemon slices in the pan.
Arrange the fish, skin-side up on a cutting board and using a sharp knife, make three shallow slashes into each fillet, cutting through the skin and halfway into the flesh. Place a bay leaf into each slash and season with salt and pepper.
Place the fish, skin-side up, over the lemons and drizzle with the remaining tablespoon of oil. Broil until the skin is browned and crisp and the fish is cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes.
Transfer the fish and lemons to plates. Pour any accumulated juices over top and serve right away with the rouille, green beans, and roasted potatoes.
Pro tips
Pair it Up
High-acid, unoaked white wines offer a clean, crisp finish that complement the fish's natural salinity. Look for chablis — unoaked chardonnay — muscadet, albariño, or sancerre.
Spice It Up
Add a few thin slices of garlic or fresh chiles into the slashes along with bay leaves for added heat and flavor.
Grace Parisi
Culinary Director Grace Parisi is a cook, writer and cookbook author. Formerly the Senior Test Kitchen Editor at Food & Wine Magazine and Executive Food Director at TimeInc Books, her work has appeared in Cooking Light, Health, O Magazine, Epicurious, Fitness, Today, Serious Eats, Martha Stewart, and many more. She’s the author of more than 6 books, among them The Portlandia Cookbook and Get Saucy, which was nominated for a James Beard award for Best Single Subject Cookbook.
