Jessica chose a Moroccan dish to prepare for Sophia & Justin last night. We had picked up a large skate wing (about 1.75 pounds) in Chinatown without deciding what to do with it. So when she asked me to figure out what to do, I decided to stick with with the continental theme, rather than national. I started researching African fish recipes and found that quite a number of them had a similar style. Since I’ve eaten African a few times, I figured I could come up with my own recipe, inspired by the recipes I found online.

The Flaking Skate

It was a fun, surprising dish for us. Usually we cook fish in about two minutes to keep it tender. This dish had a much longer cooking time; in fact, some recipes called for cooking it almost 6 hours! It was also fun for me to practice my knife skills, since I had to bone and skin the wing myself (there was apparently a communication error at the fish monger).

The result was a tangy, saucy dish with tender fish. We finished every drop.

Pool of Yummy Sauce

African-Style Stewed Skate
~makes 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. Filleted Skate Wings, boned and skinned (two pieces)
  • All Purpose Flour (for coating)
  • Vegetable Oil
  • 2 medium Yellow Onions, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 tsp. Harissa (double, if you prefer spicy)
  • 1 tbsp. Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 1 (15 oz) can Tomato Sauce
  • 2 cups Fish Stock
  • Kosher Salt & Black Pepper
Filleted Skate Wings

Instructions

  1. In a large skillet over medium heat, heat enough vegetable oil to coat the entire bottom, plus a bit extra. Season the fish with salt & pepper, then coat very lightly with flour. Shake off the excess. Cook each fillet about 30 second per side, until golden brown. Set aside on a plate.
  2. Pour most of oil out of pan, keeping about one teaspoon in the pan. Add sliced onions and more salt. Cook over low heat until soft, about five minutes. Stir in harissa. When well combined de-glaze with vinegar. Stir in tomato sauce, increase heat to medium, cook until sauce starts to bubble.
  3. Add fish back to pan, pour stock over, and shake the pan to combine a bit. Cook over low heat for 25 minutes. Plate with all the sauce.
Skate... Plated

posted by Lon at 01:45 PM Filed under Fusion, Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.