Sautéed Red Snapper With Rhubarb Sauce

By Mark Bittman

Total Time
30 minutes
Rating
3(23)
Comments
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Here, the moderately rich snapper, lightly crisped, tasting of butter or olive oil works beautifully with the tart-sweet rhubarb sauce. The rhubarb cooks with no added liquid -- it contains plenty, as you'll see -- and needs almost no preparation other than a quick trim and rinse. If the stalks are very large -- more than an inch wide and a foot long -- use a vegetable peeler or a paring knife to remove the strings and cut into 4 or 5 inch pieces. (Never eat the rhubarb leaves; they contain toxic levels of oxalic acid, which gives rhubarb its astringency.)

Featured in: THE MINIMALIST; Rhubarb in a Savory Mood

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 1pound rhubarb, washed and trimmed
  • ⅓cup sugar
  • Pinch saffron
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 2tablespoons olive oil
  • 2tablespoons butter (or a little more oil)
  • 46-ounce red snapper fillets
  • Chopped mint or parsley for garnish (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

371 calories; 15 grams fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 22 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 18 grams sugars; 36 grams protein; 732 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Combine the rhubarb, sugar and saffron in a small saucepan, cover and turn the heat to low. Cook, stirring only occasionally, for about 20 minutes, or until the rhubarb becomes saucy. Add salt to taste and a little more sugar if necessary. If the mixture is very soupy, continue to cook a little longer to make it thicker.

  2. Step 2

    When you judge the rhubarb to be nearly done, put a large skillet, preferably nonstick, over medium-high heat. A minute later, add the oil and butter. When the butter foam subsides, add the fillets, skin side down. Cook for 4 or 5 minutes, or until the fish is nearly done; turn carefully; and lightly brown the flesh side, seasoning it with salt and pepper as it cooks. Transfer the fish to a plate lined with paper towels to absorb excess oil.

  3. Step 3

    Serve the fish napped with a bit of the sauce and garnished, if you like, with the herb.

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3 out of 5
23 user ratings
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Comments

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Nancy

We loved this rhubarb sauce but after a small trial decided against putting it on our fish as it seemed to overpower the fish. (We had monkfish, not red snapper, so perhaps that's why.) We served the sauce beside the fish and ate it more like a side. We had some extra sauce that we put on Greek yogurt and sprinkled with chopped pistachios.

Bob Castro Valley CA

U don't cut up the rhubarb?

Margaux Laskey, Staff Editor

Just cut to fit the pan you're using.

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