Food and Recipes Recipes Simple Pan-Seared Fish 4.0 (2) 1 Review Dinner in a snap. By Karen Schroeder-Rankin Karen Schroeder-Rankin Karen Rankin is a chef, recipe developer, and food stylist with over 25 years experience cooking, developing recipes, styling food, and entertaining guests at her table and in restaurants. During the past 11 years, Karen has been styling food for various publications such as Cooking Light, Southern Living, Eating Well, Real Simple, as well as creating instructional videos for Southern Living Magazine's Tips from the Test Kitchen, featured on select television programming, and on websites. With an interest in the use of color, texture, and presentation, she develops recipes that are intended to surprise and delight the recipients of these dishes, both from a visual standpoint and a flavor experience. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Published on March 19, 2021 Print Share Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis Active Time: 35 mins Total Time: 35 mins Servings: 4 Jump to recipe Looking for a surefire way to get an impressive dinner on the table in a snap? Let us introduce you to the concept of a simple seafood supper. While we love a good roast chicken or pasta casserole, fresh fish is wonderfully light, nutritious, and—best of all—cooks in no time. Cooking fish may seem intimidating at first; that's why we're bringing you this simple pan-searing method which works for a variety of white fish, from grouper to cod to red snapper. In fact, you can make this recipe with any thick fillets from white-fleshed fish. Once you learn how to pan-sear fish, you'll be creating five-star, restaurant-worthy dishes in your home kitchen in no time. We love to pair this fish with a simple, vibrant pea salad, but feel free to get creative based on what's in season. A few tips from our Test Kitchen to help you master this technique: When possible, buy your fish fresh at the seafood counter; frozen fish tends to be more watery. Let the fish rest for 10 minutes before cooking to allow any juices to seep out. Lastly, use a nonstick skillet to make the fish easier to sear. A drizzle of fresh honey-mustard vinaigrette at the end really brightens the entire dish. Raw peas are some of the best produce spring has to offer, complementing the simply-prepared fish and zingy dressing. Serve with simple roasted potatoes with butter and herbs and you've got a full square meal. Ingredients ¼ cup rice vinegar 2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot (from 1 large shallot) 2 teaspoons honey 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard ¼ cup plus 3 Tbsp. olive oil, divided 1 ¾ teaspoons kosher salt, divided 1 cup frozen, thawed English peas or fresh, cooked, chilled English peas 8 ounces sugar snap peas, cut diagonally into ½-inch slices (about 2 cups) ½ cup thinly sliced radishes (from 3 small radishes) ¼ cup thinly sliced red onion (from 1 small onion) 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest (from 1 lemon) 4 (6-oz.) skinless grouper fillets ½ teaspoon black pepper Lemon wedges, for serving Directions Whisk together vinegar, shallot, honey, mustard, ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, and 1 teaspoon of the salt in a medium bowl. Reserve ⅓ cup dressing. Add English and sugar snap peas, radishes, onion, and lemon zest to shallot mixture in bowl; toss to coat. Let stand at room temperature until ready to use. Pat fish fillets dry with a paper towel; season with pepper and remaining ¾ teaspoon salt. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high until shimmering. Add fillets to skillet. Cook, undisturbed, until a light golden crust appears on outside, about 4 minutes. Turn fillets over; cook until fish is opaque throughout, about 2 minutes. Remove from skillet; place on a plate lined with paper towels. Using a slotted spoon, divide pea mixture among 4 plates. Top each plate with 1 fillet; spoon reserved dressing evenly over fish and pea mixture. Serve with lemon wedges. Print