Recipe

Step 1: Begin cooking the risotto, and when the risotto is nearly done, pat the perch fillets dry with paper towels. Rub them lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.

Step 2: Heat a large nonstick skillet on medium-high and add the vegetable oil and butter.

Step 3: When the butter has stopped foaming, add the fillets skin side down and immediately place a slightly smaller skillet over them to prevent curling.

Step 4: After about 2 minutes, remove the top skillet, flip the fish, and cook uncovered until done, about 2 minutes more. Transfer the fish to a warm plate.

Step 5: Finish the risotto. Plate individually or on a serving platter, topping the risotto with perch fillets arranged skin side up. Finish with butter sauce, if desired, and the garnish.

Substitutions: Pickerel fillets (pictured) cut into small portions work just as nicely in this dish as the perch. And looking beyond local sources, red mullet is a superb and prettily coloured alternative.

Suggested wine: crisp Soave

Reprinted with permission from Mark McEwan’s Great Food At Home (2010 Penguin Group Canada).

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