Quick and Easy Dinner

Dinner in 10 minutes

My office is insanely busy from October through the end of the year.  People like to celebrate the holidays for the entire months of November and December and I'm churing out hundreds of tickets per week.  I'm in charge of gifts and travel as well and I'm busier than a one armed coat hanger.  Much as I enjoy a leisurely evening getting dinner together, I'm really bushed so I want something quick and easy.  I'll be posting some of these recipes over the coming weeks.

Flounder is often substituted for the more expensive sole in some restaurants

I really don't want to order delivery dinners.  But there are short cuts to helping me put together a home cooked meal.  One big help is getting the vegetables prepared from high quality stores like Citarella.  I always pick up broccoli rabe, string beans, brussel sprouts and other veggies that I can heat up in the microwave.  And frozen peas are ready in a snap and taste great which you saute in oil and add cherry tomatoes. Then with a home cooked main item like flounder or rainbow trout it makes for a great dinner.  Inexpensive, too.

 

Dredge in flour

This piece of flounder cost about $6 bucks. I dry the filet well with paper towels, dredge in flour and pop in a non-stick frying pan with extra virgin olive oil and a pad of butter (36 calories for the butter). 

Sauté on both sides till golden brown

 

How delicious does this look?

It takes about 3 minutes or so for the filets to get that golden brown color.  Gently lift the side with a spatula and flip when they attain that golden color.  It amazes me that this crunchy crust is created with just a little bit of flour.

If I didn't know better, I'd think these were pork chops!

Be sure to squeeze fresh lemon juice on top - and if you want to cheat a little have some tatar sauce on the side.

Dinner is served!

Ingredients

1/2 pound or so of flounder filet per person
1 cup flour for dredging
2 tbspns extra virgin olive oil
1 pad butter (about a tablespoon)

Method

Dry the filets well in paper towels - I let them sit in the towels for a few minutes with a plate on top to weigh down
Flounder filets tend to be long so I cut them in half so they flip easily
Pre-heat sauté pan over medium heat
Carefully add oil and butter
Put filets in and cook about 3 minutes per side
Using spatula gently lift sides to see if you get the golden brown coloring
Flip and repeat
Remove from pan, squeeze lemon juice on top and serve immediately.