Vendredi Vocab: Meunière

By Cecily G

As in, Wild Flounder Meunière, but I’m getting ahead of myself. We’ll get to that later.

Vendredi means “Friday” in French. Each week we add something new to our culinary vocabulary by delving into a word from our menu.

This week, we will delve into: Meunière

The term meunière refers to both the method of preparation and sauce, for primarily fish, and literally translates to mean “miller’s wife” in French. The dish is light, moist in texture, and is cooked with a mild flavor. The fish is first dredged in flour (hence the name “miller’s wife). Then, one can either sauté the fish in butter, or pan fry. Frying results in a crispier textured fish. The sauce is a version of a brown butter sauce, with the addition of lemon and parsley.

The dish originates from miller’s wives (very busy ladies), who were looking for simple, easy to prepare dishes. Luckily, these wives were French, which means that though they were busy, they weren’t going to sacrifice flavor. Taking the flour from their mills and a few other simple ingredients, viola! Meunière was born.

Now, I want to talk to you about the Wild Flounder Meunière at the girl & the fig. It’s me, Cecily, hi everyone! And I wanted to give you a personal (glowing) review of this dish.

Let’s get down to brass tacks. I freaking love this dish. It’s so good. And I am not a fish lover. There, I said it! I don’t like fish! But I LOVE the Wild Flounder Meunière. Why? Because it’s delicious, that’s why! Let me elaborate.

When your plate arrives, a buttery rich scent floats it’s way up, and you know you’re in for a treat. The first bite will have you hooked. The lemony brown butter sauce and pop of salty caper hit your palate and accentuate the perfectly cooked piece of flounder. Second bite should be a healthy dose of silky yukon potato purée, and sauteed spinach. The meal is light, yet flavorful and rich. Continue on in epicurean bliss, until the meal is sadly over. Until next time, when I inevitably order this dish again (or at least, make whoever I’m dining with order it, so I can steal a bite or two). But hey, don’t take my word for it, try it for yourself! Happy dining. 😊

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vendredi means “Friday” in French. Each week we add something new to our culinary vocabulary by delving into a word from our menu. We love food, we love words, and we love to learn something new. We also love Fridays.

Happy Vendredi, everyone!