Many of the restaurants, particularly the Italian ones, in our home town feature several chicken and fish entrees served with a really yummy lemon sauce. Sometimes the sauce includes garlic and sometimes it includes cheese and sometimes it includes both. However it’s served, it is really good, and I have been trying to replicate the recipe and technique for awhile now.
Here it is served with a simple sautéed white fish, Tilapia. I love lemon, and I love this sauce. You’ll see it again with chicken and with cheese, too. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
Garlic Lemon Sauce ingredients.
Garlic Lemon Sauce – step-by-step.
Combine the chicken stock and lemon juice. Set aside. Melt butter in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and cook until tender, about one minute. Do not brown. Add the flour to make a roux. Stir continuously for another minute being careful not to brown the mixture. Slowly add chicken broth mixture, stirring continuously. Cook over medium heat until thickened. Slowly add the white wine and continue to cook slowly over medium heat until thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste.
This sauce will actually taste better if made in advance. Cool and store in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight. Slowly warm up on the stove over low heat stirring frequently. Or warm it up in the microwave using a low setting for 30 second intervals.
Sautéed Tilapia ingredients.
This simple technique to sauté mild white fish filets lends itself to being prepared with a sauce to complement the fish. It is the same technique used to prepare my Sautéed Tilapia with Caper Sauce.
Combine the flour with salt and pepper. Rinse the fish filets and pat dry. Dredge in the flour mixture and shake off any excess.
Melt the oil and butter mixture in a large, non-stick sauté pan over medium to medium high heat. You want to have ample room to cook the fish without crowding it into the pan. Once the oil and butter are heated, add the filets and sauté until browned, about 3 minutes. Turn over and brown the other side, about 2 or 3 minutes. Remove to a plate. The filets may be kept warm in an oven preheated to 200° F until ready to plate and serve.
Saut̩ed Tilapia with Garlic Lemon Sauce Рready to eat.
Served with my Stir Fried Angel Hair Cole Slaw (I will feature this recipe on Thursday).
Yummy.
Sautéed Tilapia with Garlic Lemon Sauce
Serves 2
To prepare the fish:
2 4 to 6-ounce Tilapia filets
¼ cup all-purpose flour
Salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3 TB olive oil or butter or a combination
Mix the flour, salt, and pepper is a shallow bowl.  Rinse the fish filets and pat dry. Dredge the filets in the flour mixture and set aside while the oil is heated.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium to medium high heat. Once the oil is heated, add the fish filets and sauté until the bottom of the fish is nicely browned, about 3 minutes. Turn and brown the other side, another 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the filets to a plate. Filets may be kept warm in an oven that has been preheated to 200° F.
To prepare the sauce:
2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
3 TB butter
1½ TB all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken stock
1 fresh lemon, juiced (about 1/8 cup)
¼ cup dry white wine
Salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Combine the chicken broth and lemon juice. Set aside. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté until soft but not browned, about 1 minute. Add the flour and stir continuously for another minute. This is a roux. Do not allow the roux to brown. Slowly add the chicken broth mixture to the roux in the saucepan. Cook until bubbly and thickened stirring continuously. Add the white wine and continue to cook and stir continuously until thickened. Taste and season with salt and pepper. The sauce may be made in advance, stored in the refrigerator, and reheated when ready to serve.
2 Responses to What’s Cookin’ – Sautéed Tilapia with Garlic Lemon Sauce