SERVES 4
The first time I tasted sole meunière—a classic French dish—I was in the small fishing port of Concarneau, in the northwest of France. It was so simple, so perfect. When we started planning for CRU, I knew that was exactly how I wanted to serve the local Nantucket fluke. As an accompaniment to the fish, I developed a new take on a childhood favorite of mine, green beans amandine. I don’t know if this signature CRU dish will ever change but I hope not.
INGREDIENTS
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter
½ cinnamon stick
6 fresh sage leaves
4 half-pound fluke fillets
Kosher salt
1 tablespoon fine flour, such as Wondra
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pound haricots vert or green beans, blanched
1½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice, plus 1 lemon, cut into 4 wedges
½ cup hazelnuts, skins removed, toasted and lightly crushed
In a small saucepan, melt the butter with the cinnamon stick. Set a fine-mesh sieve over a bowl with tall sides. Place the sage leaves in the bowl beneath the sieve. When the butter smells like caramel and is the color of toasted hazelnuts, remove the pan from the heat and pour the butter slowly and carefully through the sieve; the sage leaves will flavor the butter and the heat of the butter will “crisp” the sage.
TO COOK THE FISH: Season the fish fillets with salt and then dust them with the flour. Heat the oil in a 14-inch skillet over medium-high heat. When the pan is very hot but not smoking, gently place the fillets, flesh side down, in the pan. Give the fish a little shake to ensure that it isn’t sticking, then lower the heat to medium. Cook until the flesh turns golden; carefully flip and cook another minute or two. If you do not have a pan that’s large enough to cook all the fillets at once, use two pans or place the first batch of cooked fish on a baking sheet in a warm oven (200°F). Wipe out the pan and repeat the cooking process with the last two fillets.
FINISHING THE GREEN BEANS: As soon as you flip the last fillet, transfer the butter and the crispy sage leaves to a large sauté pan over medium heat, add the blanched green beans, and toss. Add the lemon juice and toasted hazelnuts, toss, and remove from the heat.
TO SERVE: Divide the beans among four plates. Top each with a fillet of fish. Garnish with the lemon wedges and serve immediately.
THE ALLURE OF NANTUCKET SOUND TO WORLD-CLASS SAILORS
On a clear summer day, Nantucket Sound—the sizeable body of water that lies between the southern coast of Cape Cod and Nantucket Island, bounded by Martha’s Vineyard to the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the east—can appear to be nothing more than a pretty thirty- by fifty-mile stretch of open water. And indeed, it is pretty. But beneath its sapphire-blue surface lie hazards. Shallows and shoals abound. Anyone other than skilled sailors and top-notch navigators attempting to traverse this body of water risks running aground.
Its location also lends the drama of strong currents that can catch a novice (and even veteran sailors) off guard. The Sound’s wide eastern end meets the ocean, which means fog is not uncommon; unpredictable winds and high seas can wreak havoc as well. In the Island’s early history (pre-GPS and the other sophisticated navigation tools that are available today), shipwrecks in these waters were common.
The Sound is heavily transited: research vessels from Woods Hole; merchant ships; US Coast Guard boats; commercial fishing vessels from Fairhaven, New Bedford, and ports farther west as well as Hyannis, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket; sport fishing boats; pleasure boats; and ferries. It all makes for what some sailors describe as a “circus of boats”—fun to look at but also a potential danger, particularly to sail racers.
These challenges only make Nantucket Sound more appealing to sailing enthusiasts. The annual Figawi Race, from Hyannis to Nantucket and, three days later, back again, is a tradition among expert sailors from as far away as Europe and the Caribbean. The Opera House Cup Regatta is a cherished sailing tradition held the third Sunday of August with all wooden, single-hulled classic boats.
Still, the waters of the Sound are inviting, and the reward of docking at the end of the day on Nantucket—one of the world’s most beautiful islands—makes the lure irresistible.