Champagne Beurre Blanc Sauce Dinner Extraordinaire!

Tile Fish & Risotto with Steamed Oysters & Caviar in a Champagne Beurre Blanc Sauce

We couldn’t resist the contest title nor the food blog that launched it. “What’s for lunch, Honey?‘ ‘s bubbly Meeta K. instructs all participants as follows: “What I am looking for in this session of the Monthly Mingle is your creations using champagne (or prosecco or sparkling wine) … Make a dessert, use it in a cake or make a sauce for your meat dish – it’s entirely up to you how you plan to use it – but I want champagne in it!” How can you refuse?  So we got to work on it last night and here is a picture of what we made. It was unbelievably scrumptious!  Details on how to make it are below. Yeilds 4 portions. Cheers!

For the Champagne Beurre Blanc Sauce:
3/4 cup champagne
1/4 cup chopped shallots
1-2 bay leaves
1 tsp mirin
1 tsp fish sauce
7-8 pepper corns
3 Tbsp butter, separated

Put all ingredients in a saucepan and reduce over low heat until there is about 3 tablespoons of liquid. Strain, return to pan it and whisk in 3 tablespoons of butter, one at a time.

For the Risotto:
1 cup champagne
1 cup Arborio Classico Risotto
1/4 cup chopped shallots
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 cup chicken stock
1 tsp salt

Sauté shallots in olive oil over medium heat for 5 minutes, until translucent. Add rice and mix together, coating well. Add one cup champagne, salt, stir, lower heat and cover. Add chicken stock, half cup at a time, and keep stirring. Taste rice for salt and remove from heat immediately when al dente.

For the rice vegetables:
2 Tbsp champagne
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp chopped chives
1 cup coarsely grated carrots
1/4 cup baby green peas
1/3 cup grated Pecorino/Sicilian Primosale

Toss all ingredients together in a bowl, except the cheese, and set aside.

For the Tile fish:
1 cup champagne
2 fillets tile fish (about 10-12 oz each)
1 beaten egg for dipping
1 cup panko, for coating
1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
thinly sliced lemon wedges for garnish

Prepare a warming oven. Drag the fish fillets in the beaten egg and then coat with the panko. Heat the canola oil in a large saucepan and sauté the fish for about 2-3 minutes per side. Add about 1/4 cup of the champagne, cover and turn off the heat. Remove fish from sauce pan and place in the warm oven in an oven proof dish. Add the remaining 3/4 cup of champagne to the saucepan and deglaze contents over high heat. Stir and keep reducing down to a thick sauce. Strain and add to the Champagne Beurre Blanc Sauce.

For the Oysters:
1/2 cup champagne
1 dozen Kumamoto oysters (or other cupped shell oysters)
orange and / or green caviar

Steam the oysters in a covered pan for a few minutes in the champagne. As soon as the shells open slightly, remove from heat. Take oysters out of the shells, reserving the prettiest ones as serving vessels (4 half shells will contain 3 shelled oysters each).

Preparing to Plate:
Toss vegetables with risotto and arrange a portion neatly as the first layer at the bottom of a plate. Sprinkle some grated cheese on the rice and and top with a section of Tile fish. Place an oyster shell next to the rice and fish, add 3 shelled oysters in it and top with the caviar. Garnish with several lemon slices. Top the fish with the Champagne Beurre Blanc Sauce, pouring a little pool of sauce in the bottom of the dish (yes, even add a few drops on the oysters!) and serve immediately. Bon Appetit!

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