From the menu of … Scalini's Italian Restaurant, 2390 Cobb Parkway, Smyrna. 770-952-7222, www.scalinis.com
Q: My entire family absolutely loves the Red Snapper Francese from Scalini's. I have tried many times to make it at home but have never been successful, nor have I been able to find it anywhere else. Can you perhaps help? Thanks. — Allan Smith, Griffin
A: For almost 35 years the Bogino family has been serving classic Italian dishes at Scalini's Italian Restaurant. This is one of their original recipes and has not changed in all that time. In our photo, the snapper is served with Fettuccini Alfredo.
Red Snapper Francese is described on the menu as snapper dipped in egg and then sauteed until golden. This same preparation can be used with other fish such as flounder, or with chicken.
Do not use olive oil when cooking the fish. The restaurant emphasizes that olive oil would not complement the flavors and is not meant to be heated to such high temperatures.
Scalini’s Red Snapper Francese
2 eggs
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 cup all-purpose flour
Vegetable oil
6 (2-ounce) pieces red snapper fillet
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup vegetable or chicken broth
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon dry white wine (optional)
Lemon wedge or wheel, for garnish
In a pie plate, whisk together eggs and parsley. Set aside.
Put flour in a second pie plate.
In a large skillet, add enough oil to come to a depth of 1/4-inch. Heat over medium high heat.
When the oil is ready, dip the snapper pieces one at a time into the flour, covering all sides. Shake off excess flour and move pieces to egg mixture. Make sure all sides are covered with egg mixture, then allow excess egg to drip back into the pie plate. Carefully slide coated fish into hot oil. Do not crowd pan. Cook for 1 minute per side. The flour and egg mixture will puff and then turn golden brown. As fish finishes cooking, remove each piece and keep warm.
Discard egg mixture and reserve 1 tablespoon flour.
When all fish is cooked, pour out vegetable oil. In the hot pan, add butter and reserved tablespoon of flour. Cook over medium heat until mixture thickens. Add broth, lemon juice and white wine, if using. Whisk together until smooth. Return the fish pieces to the pan and simmer in the sauce until fish is cooked through, about 6 minutes. Transfer the snapper to a warm plate and drizzle the sauce over the top, then garnish with lemon and serve immediately. Serves: 2
Per serving: 425 calories (percent of calories from fat, 46), 48 grams protein, 11 grams carbohydrates, trace fiber, 22 grams fat (4 grams saturated), 274 milligrams cholesterol, 166 milligrams sodium.
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