Roasted White Fish With Lemony Almondine
- Total Time
- 20 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:4 servings
- 4(6- to 8-ounce) fillets flaky white fish, such as hake, cod or flounder, or trout
- Fine sea or table salt and black pepper
- 7tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½cup sliced almonds
- 1lemon, zest finely grated, then fruit halved
- 1tablespoon minced chives, plus more for garnish
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
416 calories; 27 grams fat; 13 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 10 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 5 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 1 gram sugars; 38 grams protein; 598 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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- Step 1
Heat oven to 450 degrees. Place fish on a rimmed sheet pan and season fillets lightly with salt and black pepper on both sides. Cut 1 tablespoon butter into small pieces and scatter on top of the fish. Roast for 7 to 11 minutes, or until the fish is tender and cooked through. (Thin fillets will cook more quickly than thick ones.)
- Step 2
While fish roasts, in a large skillet, melt remaining 6 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Cook, swirling the pan, until the foam subsides and the butter turns a deep nut brown, 3 to 7 minutes. (Watch carefully so that it doesn’t burn.)
- Step 3
Add almonds to the pan and turn off the heat; the nuts will immediately start to brown. Toss them in the hot butter until golden, about 2 minutes, turning the heat back on to low if the nuts need a little more color. Squeeze the juice from half a lemon into the pan and stir in half of the grated lemon zest, the chives, ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Taste and add more lemon juice and salt, if needed.
- Step 4
Pour the sauce over the fish and garnish with more chives and lemon zest. Serve warm, with the remaining lemon half on the side for squeezing. (You can cut it into wedges, if you like.)
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Jonny2bears
My halibut fillets were just over 6 oz, and I used about 1/2 tbs shaved butter on each fillet, while cutting the remaining butter for the almonds in about half. The almonds browned just fine in less butter, and this dinner entree came together brilliantly. I suppose using all the butter is decadence at its finest for many, but less was fine. The fillets roasted wonderfully with a touch more butter. Great almandine take!
Chris Flanagan
In Julia and Jaques “Cooking at Home,” Julia boiled 1/4 C white wine vinegar and 1/4 C of dry white wine or dry white vermouth, before removing pan and whisking in 2 tablespoons of butter, returning pan to the stove and continuing to add the rest of the butter incrementally to achieve a thick smooth sauce. I used Pernod which provides a anise flavor to the dish.
Gale
So either don't make and eat it at all or save it for a special, occasional meal. Few of us eat like this on a daily basis so that when we do it's worth the calories. And roasting the fish is brilliant and simple.
Meg McAlister
This recipe was delicious with cod last night. We served with bread to mop up the butter and lemon juices, good to the last drop. Julia Child knew what she was doing.
Frederick Tibbetts
Suggestion. Add depth with a shot of white wine at Step 5, reduced just for a minute, before the lemon juice and zest go in. Cheers to not flouring, and roasting instead. For those who are dismayed and how much butter is needed, remember that all that lemony richness is to go with/over the “bare bones” accompaniments: whether potatoes, rice, haricots, or crusty bread.
RLA
Too much fat (as yummy as it is) 27 gr of fat is too much for just one part of one dish
Steven
The fish pictured is cod.
Jonathan
For those on a budget, this works very well with Basa (typically available frozen in Asian food markets).
Zuzu
Julia & butter, 2 beautiful words
Tracy
I thought sheet pan for fish was a no?
vger21
Quick and tasty.
Neil
Honestly? This was bland and uninteresting. I don’t care how much butter you add. There are much better ways to prepare fish
Marcia Mendels
I added some minced garlic and ginger while the butter was cooking for two more flavor notes, and was very happy with the combination. We used wild Pacific cod filets, which cooked perfectly in the oven. I’ll make this recipe again!
Guava
I wasn’t expecting this recipe to have much flavor, but it did and was great! I used 5 filets of Lake Superior whitefish and the recipe was pretty perfect for all 5. Thanks for the inspo and this recipe!
Nancy Black
This is my new go-to fish recipe. I made it with fresh local Rock Fish. Simple ingredients like butter, lemon and almonds elevate a stellar fish dish.
Kevin
This was a perfect recipe for the air fryer, for 2 servings. I cooked two four oz fairly thin local halibut filets for 10 minutes total. I used a total of 2 T butter (1/2 T divided on the filets, the rest in the saucepan) And used about 3T Trader Joes’ dry-roasted dry almonds (it’s what we had). Didn’t need to cook the almonds, really just warmed them. Could use the juice of the whole lemon if you wanted to, it really adds a lot.
Joan Pachner
Delicious inspiration for dinner tonight. Took off a star because I used less than 1 tbsp of butter. Could have done almonds on a dry pan but added a bit just for flavor. My dish is not saucy but it is delicious. SErved with sauteed zucchini, leek and onion and rice.
LindainPittsburgh
Great way to cook Tilapia. Mix butter and EVOO. Add a little wine with the lemon juice.
idk
This was lovely. I used Dorade (Bream?) and served it with rice and broccoli. Next time I will make sure to butter the roasting pan well--the skin stuck to my pan. Suggestions for variations, such as adding some wine, or capers sound good too.
Joanne
I made this as written with a filet of Pacific Cod that I cut into 4 pieces. I removed the thinner pieces after 7 min and let the thicker ones go another 4 min. I roasted green beans on the same sheet pan and served with couscous. It came together quickly and was so delicious! I will definitely make again.
Bette from Boston
Thank you Melissa Clark! I added a few capers with the zest and sprinkled some chopped parsley over the fish before spooning the sauce (per Jacques & Julia). The dish was basically Muniere without the headache of frying a flakier fish (I used cod and it was delicious). Roasting it quickly while making the sauce separately is brilliant.
Michael from TN
If you want to add a little more flavor to the fish, sprinkle some Lawry’s seasoning!
Tessa
I had two whole trout and read that for whole fish, cooking them in oven at 350 till internal temp reached 130 degrees is perfect. I did that. Then turned the whole fish into the pan with brown butter and almonds and cooked on low for a couple more minutes. The fish were perfectly cooked, moist and delicate. The sauce was perfect. Awesomeness! I will make this again in this same way.
peggy the cook
Made this with cod. Delicious but the cod was overcooked. Checked at 6 minutes and very tough so cooked 2M more and even tougher! I've never had this problem before. Other roasted fish recipes say to cook at 400 so maybe 450 is too hot! But will try again. As I said, delicious!
Tom
Excellent and delicious. Cooked as prescribed. Will definitely add to my rotation. Got rave reviews. Very tasty way to dress up cod. I always use a thermometer, then I don’t have to worry about whether my oven is accurate, although I have cooked enough that I know that it is.
Ariel
Appreciate the notes left by others about the white wine, definitely elevated the dish.
Scarlett
Yum. The almonds make the dish. I used rock fish & served with rice pilaf & lentils.
Ruth M.
I used tilapia fillets, 2 lbs was too much for 3 but left overs will be appreciated. I couldn't get the almonds to brown but taste was great. Important to chose thick filets that still are moist after baking. my guest asked to take home uneaten fish and sauce, a real compliment.
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