Chat Du Lac
Submitted by marinalva
Baked catfish fillets in white wine with sliced mushrooms, topped with a silky butter-lemon cream sauce and a shower of Parmesan. Creole-inspired elegance on the table in 45 minutes.
YIELD
6 servingsPREP
10 minCOOK
30 minREADY
45 minChat Du Lac, “cat of the lake," is Southern catfish dressed up for a night out. Fillets bake in white wine with sliced mushrooms until just tender, then get blanketed in a velvety sauce built right from the pan juices.
The sauce comes together fast: butter, flour, milk, and the wine-mushroom liquid from the baking dish whisked into something rich, bright with lemon, and utterly spoonable.
A final hit of grated Parmesan and fresh parsley on top brings color and a salty bite that ties the whole plate together.
This is the kind of Creole cooking that proves catfish belongs at a dinner party, not just a fish fry.
Kitchen Tips
- Pat the fillets bone-dry before laying them in the dish. Moisture on the surface steams instead of bakes, and you want tender flesh, not rubbery.
- Use a good dry white wine you’d actually drink. Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio both work well here.
- Don’t skip the pan juices. That liquid is packed with flavor from the wine and mushrooms. It’s the secret weapon that makes the sauce taste like you simmered it for hours.
Ingredients
Directions
Thaw frozen fish according to package directions.
Rub rectangular baking dish with 1 tablespoon of the butter.
Pat fillets dry, arrange in dish in one layer.
Add wine, scatter mushrooms over fish and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Bake in preheated 400℉ (200℃). oven for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, melt remaining 4 tablespoons butter in saucepan; add flour, stirring with whisk.
Add milk, stirring, when blended and smooth, remove from heat.
Pour liquid from baked fish into saucepan, stirring; bring to a boil and cook, stirring often, about 5 minutes.
Stir in lemon juice; pour sauce over fish and bake 10 minutes longer.
Sprinkle with cheese and parsley; serve hot.
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