simple sauce of mango and banana flavors fish that has been coated and sautéed until golden. The lovely cucumber garnish takes a bit of fiddling, but is unusual and attractive. Once you've mastered it you can use it to garnish many other dishes.
Ingredients
1
egg
1/2 cup
milk
1
flour for dredging
1
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
6 12-ounce
red snapper fillets, skinned
4 tablespoons
butter
1 tablespoon
light vegetable oil
1
juice of 3 lemons
Sauce
1/4 cup
(1/2 stick) butter
2
mangoes, julienned
2
bananas, sliced
1/2 cup
banana liqueur
1/2 cup
water
1
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1
cucumber
4
tomato rose garnishes
4 sprigs
rosemary
Instructions
Beat the egg with the milk. Season the flour with salt and pepper. Cut each fish fillet in half crosswise. In a large heavy skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and stir in the vegetable oil. Dip the fish fillets in lemon juice, then in the egg mixture. Dredge in the seasoned flour. Fry for 5 minutes on each side, until golden. Remove, drain on paper towels, and keep warm.
To make the sauce: In the same skillet used for the fish, melt the butter and add the mango and banana. Sautée for 3 minutes. Stir in the liqueur and water and bring to a boil. Cook until reduced by one-fourth in volume. Remove from heat and taste for seasoning; add salt and pepper to taste.
To make the cucumber garnish: Cut the ends off each cucumber, and cut each cucumber in half. Slice each piece in half lengthwise. Cut each resulting piece almost all the way through in very thin slices, keeping them attached by a strip of skin. Fan a cucumber section, tucking every other slice of the cucumber back on itself. Repeat with the remaining sections.
To serve: Place three pieces of fish on each plate. Put a tomato rose in the center. Spoon the warm sauce over the fish, placing banana slices on the fish. Garnish each plate with a cucumber section. Top the plates with sprigs of rosemary.
Chef Ottmar Weber Restaurant: Ottmar's at the Grand Pavilion Hotel Grand Cayman, British West Indies
