Pan Fried Sand Dabs – AKA: Hopefully Tadich’s Would Be Proud
San Francisco is known for a multitude of dishes. For uninitiated outsiders, this one might not be as well known. But, come on through and many-a-restaurant will gladly serve up some real ugly local bottom dwellers for ya.
“Like all flatfish, the Pacific sanddab begins life as a bilaterally symmetrical fish larva,” as Wikipedia so eloquently puts it. This doesn’t last long, however, as Sand Dabs develop into sideways lookin’ fish caught right off the coast but have a nice, mellow, sweet flavor and buttery consistency, and are considered a delicacy apart from more homogenous white fish.
Old school San Francisco seafood likes to keep it simple, just a few seasonings, but loads of oil and butter. This one comes from the “before-times,” when coffee and lard were considered a balanced breakfast, and maybe a couple cigarillos before possibly getting “Shanghaied” at your local saloon.
Fast-forwarding many, many decades, when the Sixties hippies became middle-aged and more health conscious, extra virgin olive oil became more of a staple of California Cuisine starting in the 1980’s. As to not promote atherosclerosis, we’ve got a little of the newer age in this recipe, but for the most part, we’re going to keep it as close to something you’d find at Tadich Grill downtown, Sotto Mare in North Beach, or Scoma’s at Fisherman’s Wharf.
Serving Size: 2 Yous OR Mes (double everything for each additional duo)
For Fish:
- 4 Sand Dab Fillets (or just headed and gutted if you’re feeling like a true Forty-Niner)
- 1/2 Cup All Purpose Flour
- 1/2 Cup Bread Crumbs
- 1 (maybe 2) Egg(s)
- 1 Bunch of Broccolini
- Sea Salt
- Fresh Ground Pepper
- 4 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 Tbsp. Salted Butter
- Fresh Italian Parsley, to garnish
- 1/2 Lemon, to garnish
For Sauce:
- 1 Medium Shallot, minced
- 3 Tbsp. Salted Butter
- 2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 Tbsp. Fresh Italian Parsley, diced
- 2 Tbsp. Fresh Thyme, diced
- 2 Heaping Tbsp. Capers
- 2 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
- 1 tsp. Lemon Zest
- 1 1/2 Tbsp. White Wine Vinegar
- Sea Salt
- Fresh Ground Pepper
1.) If you bought fillets, skip this part. If you’re the kind of person who prefers manual transmissions, playing vinyl records on an old turntable, or shaving with a straight razor and are an all around more interesting person, continue reading. Whip out your favorite knife you use to fillet things and get to work. These fish are quite delicate, so BE delicate. If you need a tutorial on how to fillet fish, there are plenty of quick guides elsewhere. Once you read them, come on back when you’re done.
2.) Next comes the sauce. In a small saucepan (how appropriate), add 1 Tbsp. olive oil and warm to medium. Add your minced shallot and cook for about 2 and a half minutes, stirring, until nice and soft. Add your diced parsley, thyme, whole capers, vinegar and then add another Tbsp. of oil and 3 Tbsp. of butter. Stir it all up, and then add the lemon juice, zest, salt and pepper. Stir it all up again and let it cook for about 1 minute and turn off the heat. Cover for later.
3.) Now it’s time to bread the fish. Get three large shallow bowls, one for the flour, one for the egg and one for the bread crumbs. I used one egg, but use two to play it safe. Whip up the egg in its own bowl and let us begin. First, give your fish a nice coating of salt and pepper, then dredge in this order: flour, egg, and then bread crumbs. The flour will let the egg adhere better which will then let the bread crumbs adhere better. This is only a light breading, so don’t go too heavy handed. We don’t need to turn this into KFF (Kentucky fried fish).
4.) Heat up a 12 inch pan to medium and add 2 Tbsp. of olive oil. Broccolini is a rather new invention, in case you didn’t know that, so this is your modern, obligatory, vegetable garnish if you will. Throw some whole broccolini in there and add some salt and pepper and just let it sit, getting a little brown on one side. After a few minutes, toss in a knot of butter (1 Tbsp.), let that melt a bit and stir it all up. Let the other side brown for a couple minutes. Add a quarter cup of water and cover and let it steam for 3-5 minutes or until it is to the softness you like. If that’s not some easy veg, I don’t know what is.
5.) Now, for the main event! Begin by reheating your sauce from before on low, just to warm it up a little. Bust out another 12 inch pan, or just rinse out the old one because you want to have the inside of the pan nice and clean and smooth so the fish won’t stick. Heat to medium and add two more Tbsp. of oil (that’s a lot so far). Carefully place your fish on the pan and let cook for about 3 minutes each side, or until they have a light browning on both sides. Do the same as with the broccolini and add a knot of butter and maneuver it around the fish so they get a bit of a coat.
Once that’s done, plate up your fish and broccolini and spoon the sauce all over your fish and add your lemon and parsley garnishes. I hope the Azzolinos at Sotto Mare and the rest of North Beach think this local kid did ok.
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