Skate is a cartilaginous (no bones) bottom dwelling fish in the Ray family. They used to be considered a "junk fish" and not commonly seen on restaurant menus. That has changed as more and more chefs have started to use it and more people have started to eat it. Which is good because it is a great fish with a sweet flavor similar to scallops and a really appealing texture. One important thing to remember when buying skate is to smell it first as it will spoil a couple of days after being caught. If it smells like ammonia, don't buy it. And if your fish monger has a problem with you wanting to smell it, go somewhere else.
The classic way to cook skate wing is to sautee it in brown butter, which I did here, first dusting it in wondra flour. You simply toss some cold butter in a pan on medium to high heat, wait til it browns and put the skate in. Cook the fish for about 3 minutes on each side, basting it with the butter the whole time. Remove the fish with a long spatula and let it rest on a paper towel for a minute.
Lyonnaise potatoes are traditonally thin sliced and cooked with oinons and parsley in either butter or oil until crispy. They are the French version of home fries. I omitted the parlsey and used leeks instead.
The sauce is made by emulsifying the browned butter left over from cooking the skate with some fresh squeezed Valencia orange juice and a splash of sherry vinegar. The fish is topped with candied orange peel, cooked in simple syrup with chili flakes.
The classic way to cook skate wing is to sautee it in brown butter, which I did here, first dusting it in wondra flour. You simply toss some cold butter in a pan on medium to high heat, wait til it browns and put the skate in. Cook the fish for about 3 minutes on each side, basting it with the butter the whole time. Remove the fish with a long spatula and let it rest on a paper towel for a minute.
Lyonnaise potatoes are traditonally thin sliced and cooked with oinons and parsley in either butter or oil until crispy. They are the French version of home fries. I omitted the parlsey and used leeks instead.
The sauce is made by emulsifying the browned butter left over from cooking the skate with some fresh squeezed Valencia orange juice and a splash of sherry vinegar. The fish is topped with candied orange peel, cooked in simple syrup with chili flakes.