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Portugal · Flounder

Flounder Belle Meunière

Linguado à Belle Meunière

A Lisbon restaurant classic: flounder fillets fried in butter and topped with a lemony brown-butter sauce full of shrimp, mushrooms and capers.

  • Prep 15 min
  • Cook 20 min
  • Serves 4
  • Level Medium
Photo: Jay Cross from Berkeley, California, US · CC BY 2.0
Served with: Portuguese Creamed Greens ↓En Español

Ingredients

Tap each item as you gather it.

For the fish

For the sauce

Method

Step by step, the way it is done on the island.

  1. Season the fish. Season the fillets with salt, pepper and half the lemon juice and let them sit 10 minutes. Pat dry and dust with flour.
  2. Fry the fish. Heat the 2 tbsp butter with the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Fry the fillets 2–3 minutes per side until golden. Keep warm on a platter.
  3. Cook the mushrooms. Wipe the pan, add the 4 tbsp butter and cook until it foams and smells nutty. Add the mushrooms and cook 3–4 minutes until golden.
  4. Add the shrimp. Add the shrimp and capers and cook 2 minutes until the shrimp turn pink. Stir in the lemon juice and parsley.
  5. Serve. Spoon the shrimp and mushroom butter over the fish and serve with boiled potatoes.

On the side

The side dish that belongs with it, full recipe included.

Portugal

Portuguese Creamed Greens

Esparregado

Greens cooked soft, chopped fine and bound with garlicky olive oil and a little flour into a creamy purée. In Lisbon it is the classic partner for fried or grilled fish.

  • Prep 10 min
  • Cook 20 min
  • Serves 4
  • Level Easy

You need

  • 1½ lb (700 g) spinach or turnip greens (or a mix)
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup milk or cooking water
  • 1 tsp white wine vinegar
  • Salt and pepper to taste

How to make it

  1. Cook the greens. Boil the greens in salted water until tender: 2 minutes for spinach, 6–8 for turnip greens. Drain, squeeze out the water and chop very fine.
  2. Garlic oil. Warm the olive oil in a pan over medium-low heat and cook the garlic 1 minute without browning.
  3. Thicken. Stir in the flour for 1 minute, then whisk in the milk until smooth and thick.
  4. Finish. Add the greens and stir for 3–4 minutes until creamy. Season with salt, pepper and the vinegar and serve hot.

Photo: Glory Foods · CC BY 2.0

More ways to cook Flounder

Same fish, a different corner of the sea.

Lima, PeruClassic Peruvian Flounder Ceviche
Cádiz, SpainFlounder with Garlic and Chili Oil
Peniche, PortugalPortuguese Grilled Whole Flounder
Outer Banks, North CarolinaOuter Banks Crab-Stuffed Flounder