Béchamel Fish is my son’s favorite meal! When he has a birthday, he asks me to make this for him. Sounds very fancy, but it is very simple and easy enough to prepare on a weekday. The original recipe may have come from Giada de Laurentis, but I have tweaked it quite a bit and made it my own. This is a delicious recipe!
Ingredients
1 bottle white wine
2 cups water
6 tilapia filets, or any mild type of fish
1 1/2 tsp salt to season fish
1/2 tsp pepper to season fish
1/4 cup flour
5 Tbsp. butter + 2 Tbsp. butter, cubed
2 cups milk
Hefty pinch of nutmeg
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for the top
1 tsp. salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
In a large skillet over high heat, combine the water and the bottle of wine.
Bring the liquid to a boil. Poach the fish in the liquid for 10 minutes or until the fish appears opaque in color.
While the fish is poaching, spray the bottom of a 9×13-inch pan and sprinkle the bottom with salt and pepper. Remove the fish from the cooking liquid and place it in a single layer on the bottom of the pan. Salt and pepper the tops of the fish.
Pour off the cooking liquid from the skillet. Make your sauce by melting the butter in the same skillet as the poached fish. Add the flour and whisk until to make a roux. You should whisk for a couple of minutes until smooth. Gradually add warm milk, whisking constantly. Turn the heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes.
Turn off the heat or remove the pan from the heat and stir in the Parmesan, salt, pepper and nutmeg. If you have freshly grated nutmeg, use that. Stir until well combined. Taste for seasoning.
Spread the béchamel sauce over the fish filets in the pan. Sprinkle the top with Parmesan. Dot the top of the Parmesan with butter cubes.
Broil in the oven for about four minutes or until the top is a golden brown.
Comment: Can you drink the leftover wine?
😎
LOL There isn’t any. You use the whole bottle, but there is nothing stopping you from opening a new bottle for drinking. LOL