Equipment
Ingredients
Olive Oil Mash
- 600 g yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 3cm chunks
- 80 ml extra virgin olive oil, high quality
- 5 g sea salt
- 30 ml cooking water
Skate Wings
- 2 skate wings, skinned and trimmed
- 40 g all-purpose flour
- 15 ml neutral oil
- 15 g unsalted butter
- salt
- white pepper
Nutty Brown Butter Sauce
- 80 g unsalted butter, cold, cubed
- 20 g hazelnuts, toasted, skins removed, roughly chopped
- 15 g capers, drained and rinsed
- 15 ml fresh lemon juice
- 5 g flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 1273 kcal
- Protein
- 50 g
- Carbohydrates
- 82 g
- Fat
- 87 g
- Fiber
- 12 g
- Sugar
- 5 g
- Sodium
- 1709 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 30 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 11 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 2 g
- Cholesterol
- 102 mg
- Potassium
- 2641 mg
- Calcium
- 165 mg
- Iron
- 4.4 mg
- Magnesium
- 158 mg
- Phosphorus
- 694 mg
- Zinc
- 0.5 mg
- Vitamin A
- 367 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 70 mg
- Vitamin E
- 1.2 mg
- Vitamin K
- 46 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 0.0 mg
- Vitamin B12
- 0.1 mcg
- Thiamin
- 0.03 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.04 mg
- Niacin
- 0.4 mg
- Folate
- 14 mcg
- Water
- 41 g
Sources: Aggregated Public Data, USDA FoodData Central
Method
Place peeled potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water by 2cm. Season water generously with salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until tender when pierced with a knife.
While potatoes cook, pat the skate wings thoroughly dry with paper towels. Season both sides with salt and white pepper. Dredge lightly in flour, shaking off any excess.
Drain potatoes, reserving about 30ml of the cooking liquid. Immediately pass potatoes through a ricer back into the hot pot. Whisk in the olive oil in a steady stream to emulsify. Add reserved water if needed for consistency. Season with salt to taste. Cover and keep warm.
Heat neutral oil and 15g butter in the large skillet over medium-high heat. Once the butter foams and subsides, carefully lay the skate wings in the pan. Fry undisturbed until golden brown.
Flip the fish carefully using a fish spatula. Cook on the second side until the flesh pulls away easily from the cartilage bone in the center. Transfer fish to warm plates.
Wipe out the skillet if there is burnt flour. Add the 80g of cold butter. Melt over medium heat, swirling constantly, until the milk solids turn a golden hazelnut brown and smell nutty.
Immediately remove from heat. Stir in hazelnuts, capers, lemon juice, and parsley (be careful, it will sputter). Spoon the foaming sauce generously over the plated skate wings.
Chef's Notes
- Skate wing meat has a unique structure; it consists of long strands of flesh separated by a flat layer of cartilage. To eat, scrape the meat off the cartilage with a fork.
- Always smell skate before cooking. If it smells like ammonia, it is past its prime and should not be eaten.
- For the mash, adding the olive oil while the potatoes are piping hot is crucial for the potatoes to absorb the flavor without becoming greasy.
- Beurre Noisette moves from nutty to burnt in seconds. Use a light-colored pan if possible to better judge the color change.
Storage
Refrigerator: 1 day — Skate texture degrades rapidly; best consumed immediately. Mash keeps 3 days.
Reheating: Gently reheat mash in a pot. Fish is best eaten fresh but can be warmed in a low oven.
Troubleshooting
Fish is soggy, not crisp
Cause: Pan was not hot enough or fish was not dried thoroughly before dredging
Fix: Cannot be fixed once cooked; remove skin before eating if unpleasant
Prevention: Ensure oil is shimmering and fish is bone-dry before flouring
Butter sauce tastes bitter/burnt
Cause: Butter solids cooked too long past the 'noisette' stage
Fix: Discard and start sauce over (butter burns rapidly)
Prevention: Remove pan from heat immediately when solids turn light brown; have lemon juice ready to stop cooking
Cultural Context
Skate with brown butter (Raie au Beurre Noisette) is a quintessential French bistro dish. The acidity of the capers and lemon cuts through the richness of the browned butter and gelatinous quality of the wings, creating a perfect balance of textures and flavors.
