Pan..roasted Snapper with Crab Meat with Roasted Garlic and Sun..dried Tomato Butter

By t1bishop

Louisiana has such an embarrassment of
riches, from rivers, lakes and the sea, that creative chefs instinctively call on this bounty for new recipes. Here Chef Frank Brigtsen tops a sauteed fillet of snapper with crab meat in a highly flavorful butter.

Ingredients

• Tomato Butter
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter at
• room temperature
• 1/4 cup finely chopped oil-packed
• sun-dried tomatoes
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh basil
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons roasted garlic
• Six 7-ounce snapper fillets with skin
• 3 teaspoons seafood seasoning
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup clarified butter
• 1 cup fish stock or bottled clam juice
• 1 1/2 cups (16 ounces) fresh crab meat,
• picked over for shells
• 16 to 20 whole chives

Details

Servings 6

Preparation

Step 1

to make the butter: in a blender or food processor, blend all of the ingredients until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to serve. This may be done one day ahead. Preheat the oven to 450 F. Season each snapper fillet lightly with 1/2 teaspoon seafood seasoning and dust the skin side of
each fillet with flour. Heat 2 large ovenproof saute pans or skillets over medium high heat and add 1/4 cup clarified butter to each. Place the fish in the hot butter, skin side down, and cook for 1 minute.
Bake for 7 to 8 minutes, or until the fish begins to flake. Place a fillet on each of six heated plates. Discard the butter in the pan and return
the pans to high heat. Add 1/2 cup of stock of clam juice to each pan and bring to a boil. Add half of the garlic and tomato butter to each pan and cook until the butter is almost melted, about 1 minute. Add 3/4 cup of crab meat to each pan and cook just until the crab meat is heated through,
about 1 minute.
To serve: Divide the crab meat and sauce evenly over the top of each snapper fillet. Garnish with whole chives.