Plaice is not on my favourite list, the flesh is sticky and not compact at all but its subtle-flavour makes it a versatile fish to prepare.
With plenty of french shallots in the fridge I put together a super easy recipe.
Ingredients for 2 people:
2 plaice fillets
3 french shallots
1 glass of dry white wine, I opened a bottle of Giogantinu Superiore - Vermentino di Gallura DOCG - nice to have few sips while cooking :)
100g butter
salt and pepper to taste (btw, I forgot to add them!)
4 courgettes
EVO oil
Preparation:
Finely chop the shallots and place them in a small saucepan and add the butter. Pour the wine and increase the heat until it stops smelling of alcohol. Cook over low heat stirring occasionally until soft and tender.
In the meantime, peel the courgettes using a potato peeler and place the strips in a pan, cook for 8-10min with some EVO oil and salt until tender.
Add the plaice fillets to the sauce when it's almost ready and turn them twice until the flesh turns deep white and more compact. A medium size fillets will take up to 5 min.
Serve with courgette strips on the side. Scarpetta* is recommended with this sauce - if you love shallots!
*The term "scarpetta" is used in Italian slang for the act of using a piece of bread to gather remnants of sauce on a dish, an act generally considered as rude by current table manners in Western countries.