Red Snapper with Anchovy Butter

Red snapper is such a delicate fish, the less you do with it, the better. Serving it with flavored butter was George’s idea. It reminded us of Kay Hansen, our first great chef at La Colombe d’ Or who used to serve our Tom Cat bread with three different kinds of flavored butter, changing them from day to day. With the advent of olive oil, butter went out of style. I, for one, am ready to resurrect it. Trying to decide between mustard, tarragon or anchovy butter, I opted for the anchovy one.

Menu
Red Snapper with Anchovy Butter
Mashed Potatoes
Broccoli Rabe
Wine: Alsace Gentile de Katz 2009
Dessert: Chocolate Yoghurt with Belgian Wafer Cookies

Recipe

¾ pound red snapper fillet, cut into two portions
Oil
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 tablespoon or more anchovy paste
1 teaspoon finely chopped parsley
Lemon juice and lemon wedges

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

Incorporate the softened butter, anchovy paste, chopped parsley and a bit of lemon juice and set aside. Place the fillets, skin side down, on a lightly oiled baking dish. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, depending on thickness of the fish. Transfer the fish to a serving plate and top with a portion of the flavored butter. Serve with lemon wedges.

This was a lovely dish and easy to prepare. The highly recommended Alsatian wine was a tad too sweet to compliment the dish.