Coorong Mullet ‘Meuniere’ with Australian capers and preserved lemon

Recipe: Coorong Mullet ‘Meuniere’* with Australian capers and preserved lemon.

Its time and lets face, I’m JUST in time to reveal the winning recipe for the Foodologist SA Food Awards competition. There was a number of entries and the standard of them was very high. Judging was done by three individuals which included myself, a representative from PIRSA involved as an organiser of the Awards and a consummate foodie and food blog expert. Entries were judged on their use of finalists ingredients, readability and general appeal of the food presented.

The winner in the end was Susie Chant who presented a beautifully written adaption of the French classic Sole Meuniere. In this case, Susie has substituted in our local Coorong Mullet and included a number of other local ingredients such as Laucke flour, Paris Creek Organic Butter, Australian Capers, Murray River Pink Salt and preserved lemons of which I have chosen a Spice Girlz product. This treatment of this classic dishes means that in cooking it, one is able to get a true taste of the terrioir of South Australia in a literal sense. As Susie suggests, pairing with a fruity red or white wine (from South Australia of course) shows off our great state to its greatest extent. The style of writing is well presented and whilst the ingredients are presented in the modern way of demonstrating a recipe, the method section was easy to read and really made a number of the judges want to try the dish. The note at the end also provided a nice informative touch.

So here it is:

Coorong Mullet ‘Meuniere’ with Australian capers and preserved lemon

Ingredients

8 x 100g (approx) Coorong mullet fillets, skin on ½ cup
Lauke organic plain flour on a flat plate, seasoned with Murray River salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup of B.-d. Paris Creek organic butter, melted Murray River pink salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 preserved lemon, skin only, finely julienned
2 tablespoons baby Australian capers
½ bunch flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

Method
Dust the fish fillets lightly in flour and shake off the excess. Heat two heaped tbsp of butter in a large frying pan until sizzling. Lay 4 Coorong mullet fillets in pan and cook on medium heat for 1-2 minutes each side. Remove from the pan and place 2 fillets on each plate (which have been warmed) and keep in a warm place while you cook the other 4 fillets, adding more butter as you cook. To make the Meuniere sauce, (which is very quick), replace the fish pan on the heat and add the remaining butter and heat until butter foams and starts to brown. This gives it a delicious nutty flavour which marries the earthiness of the mullet with the other ingredients. Add the preserved lemon strips, capers and finally the parsley. Cook only until warmed through; about 1 minute. Divide amongst the 4 serves of Coorong mullet and pour directly over the fish. Great served with other earthy vegetables such as potatoes, beetroot, chard or spinach, for example. Works really well with big bold
fruity whites or soft fruity reds, shiraz is particularly good due to the earthy and spicy qualities of the wine.

*Meuniere means ‘millers wife’ and refers to the little amount of flour the miller’s wife would be likely to have on her hands when dealing with the fresh fish, as the mill would also be located on a stream and thus often had very fresh fish available. Many of the elaborate sauces and preparations that were developed in the 18th and 19th centuries had an underlying purpose of masking food that had begun to spoil during the several days needed for transport from fishing ports. By contrast the fish prepared by the miller’s wife did not need to be masked under a heavy sauce. A classic meuniere sauce is very simple–browned butter, chopped parsley, and lemon.

Serves 4 as a main course.

SUSIE CHANT

Susie Chant is currently operating her business – s.o.l.e.foods – from the Adelaide University Business Incubator. She has a Masters in Entrepreneurship & Innovation, and a Masters in Gastronomy. Susie is currently consulting to Le Cordon Bleu in Food Entrepreneurship, along with lecturing in Entrepreneurship at the University of Adelaide, and researching Australian perceptions of ethical food consumption for the School of History and Politics, also at the University of Adelaide. Her business focus is in the areas of food quality, sustainability and the use of ethical, local and organic food products. As well as owning many successful and award winning hospitality businesses in tourist regions around South Australia, Susie has also lived and worked as a chef in many locations around the world such as Grand Cayman Island in the West Indies and at Blenheim Palace in England for the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough.