Plaice with Clams, Garlic and Parsley in a White Wine Pan Sauce
Plaice are plentiful around the Isle of Wight and are readily available almost all year round, but all too often they are overlooked in favour of more fashionable, celebrity fish.
Yet their simple delicate fillets need very little cooking and are almost guaranteed to be bone free, needing only 4 or 5 minutes under the grill; two ready prepared fillets, one from each side of the fish, will feed two people. The sauce is equally as quick, and is simply the cooking liquor from steaming the clams, thickened with butter and flavoured with plenty of garlic and parsley.
Some boiled new potatoes and a side of asparagus would make fitting accompaniments, as would samphire, spinach or a green salad with a decent loaf of crusty bread (…and the rest of that bottle of wine).
Ingredients
(serves 2)
2 x plaice fillets
1 x tablespoon olive oil
2 x cloves of garlic, chopped
250g palourde clams or cockles, washed and drained
100ml dry white wine
50g butter + a knob
1 x tablespoon of chopped parsley
Season the fish on the flesh side and place under the grill with a knob of butter on each fillet.
Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan, add the chopped garlic and fry for a minute or two over a low heat without taking any colour.
Add the clams to the pan and toss to coat with the garlic and oil, then add the white wine and put the lid on. Turn the heat up a notch to get the wine hot and steaming, shaking the pan gently from time to time.
Check the clams have fully opened after 2 or 3 minutes steaming, put the lid back on for another 30 secs or so if in doubt, then drain through a sieve into a bowl and discard any clams that haven’t fully opened.
Pour the clam liquor back in to the pan (leaving behind the last tablespoon if it looks gritty) and bring back to a simmer over a medium heat. Add the butter a piece at a time and whisk in to make a loose glossy sauce. Season with salt and pepper then add back in the clams, along with the parsley and take off the heat.
Serve the plaice with the sauce poured over.