Whole Roasted Baby Flounder with Sweet Onion Marmalade Recipe

Whole Roasted Baby Flounder with Sweet Onion Marmalade

Yield: Serves 4

For the Marmalade:

• 12 cups thinly sliced Wadmalaw Sweets or other sweet onions like Vidalia or Maui (about 3 pounds)
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar

For the Fish:

• 4 baby flounders, dressed, each weighing 12 to 18 ounces
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup peanut oil
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter

Imagine the delicate, golden flounder melting in your mouth, crowned with a luscious, caramelized onion marmalade that bursts with sweet-tangy flavor. This Charleston-inspired dish from Louis Osteen will transport you to coastal elegancesimple yet stunning, perfect for impressing guests or treating yourself to something extraordinary.

1. Combine onions and stock in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil over medium-high heat, then lower heat, cover, and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
2. Meanwhile, simmer cream in a small saucepan over medium heat for 30 minutes until reduced by half.
3. Uncover onions, season with salt and pepper, and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until syrupy and lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Stir in reduced cream and simmer 20 minutes until thickened. Add red wine vinegar, simmer 1-2 minutes to blend flavors. Keep warm. (Refrigerate covered up to 2-3 days after cooling.)
4. Preheat oven to 400F.
5. Rinse flounder and pat dry. Mix flour, salt, and pepper on a shallow dish. Coat fish evenly, shaking off excess.
6. Heat peanut oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high until butter sizzles. Add flounders white-skin side down, one at a time. Cook 2 minutes until golden-brown (not burning). Turn and cook other side 2 minutes. Transfer to a baking sheet in one layer.
7. Roast on upper third oven rack 6-8 minutes until flaky and opaque. Avoid overcooking. Warm marmalade to a simmer.
8. Serve immediately on warmed plates, topped generously with hot marmalade.

Recipe adapted from Louis Osteen's Charleston Cuisine by Louis Osteen. Copyright 1999 by Louis Osteen. Reprinted by permission of Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, a division of Workman Publishing.