unreasonably great flounder
🐟 and no paywall today 🐟
Hey there! On Tuesdays I share easy lunch recipes* for paid subscribers. Today is different, though! There is no paywall today because today’s recipe is SO EASY AND QUICK AND BARELY EVEN A RECIPE!
To me, *lunch recipes are especially simple to make and simple to clean-up (of course you can make the recipe for any mealtime that you’d like!).
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Flounder!
Hi friends,
Like I mentioned up top, today’s “recipe” is barely a recipe and I’m not putting it behind a paywall today because it’s sooooo simple.
If you love fish, you’ll love this. If you like fish, you’ll probably really like this. And if you don’t like fish, I’ll be back next Tuesday with a non-fish recipe.
For the glorious flounder pictured above, start with really good flounder. I like flounder a lot because:
it’s one of the more environmentally sustainable types of fish
it’s fairly easy to find it locally on the east coast (shout out to my favorite local seafood store Gadaleto’s!)
it’s got a mild, fresh flavor that everyone can get behind — including anyone who likes fish but only if it’s not “fishy fish”
it’s thin so it cooks quickly
it’s hard to dry it out!!
Can you make cook this “recipe” with a different type of fish? For sure! Especially anything flat and white. Or whatever you want! It’s easygoing.
The “Recipe”
To make “Unreasonably Good Flounder” (I’m calling it that because it’s so good and just so easy that the effort-reward ratio feels nearly unreasonable to me), you will need:
1 pound flounder fillets (in my case, this was 2 big fillets)
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Old Bay
For serving: lemon wedges
Preheat your air fryer to 400ºF (see below under ‘notes’ if you don’t have an air fryer).
Place the flounder on a parchment liner that fits your air fryer. Evenly spread the mayo over the surface of the fish (I like a small offset spatula for this job) and evenly sprinkle with the Old Bay. As you can see in the process photos below, I didn’t sprinkle the Old Bay evenly at first so just used my fingertips to rub the Old Bay into the mayo, which was no biggie and you can do this, too, if needed.
Air fry until the fish is beautifully browned and flakes easily when you nudge it with a fork, about 10 minutes (if your flounder is very thin, it could be more like 8 minutes; if it’s super thick, up to 12 or even 15).
Serve hot with lemon wedges for squeezing over.
Heaven!
A few notes:
You can cook more fish fillets at one time by using a parchment-lined sheet pan in a 450ºF oven.
You can make this if you don’t have an air fryer by following the above ^ instructions (I prefer the air fryer because I’m cooking for just two of us and it’s faster and doesn’t heat up my whole kitchen, plus I have nothing to clean up!). You can also broil the fish on an foil-lined sheet pan if you prefer (don’t use parchment — it will burn under the broiler!). Coat the foil with a little oil if you do the broiler method so that the fish doesn’t stick to the foil.
Want ideas of what to serve this with? How about a baked potato and some buttery green beans? Or sweet potato fries and coleslaw? Maybe spaghetti with garlic and olive oil and lemon? Or pesto pasta and a caprese salad? Corn on the cob?
Want to turn this into a delicious fish sandwich? Just lightly toast a potato bun or a brioche bun, spread with mayo or tartar sauce, pile the fish on the bun, top with ripe tomato and and iceberg and lots of salt and pepper and maybe a little hot sauce and there you go!
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I love a no-recipe recipe! This looks so simple and delicious. I write about the daily grind of dinner in my newsletter and think this would make a fantastic easy dinner. I'm often sharing your recipes, and look forward to sharing this one as well. Thank you!
TY! And placing my vote for more air fryer recipes!