This dish felt like a permanent fixture on our menu during the late 1970s and early 1980s, says Rick Stein. I probably first had it in Paris, during one of our early trips, which would have been around 1978. When my then wife Jill and I were on holiday, we made a point of testing things out and picking up recipes and ideas for the kind of restaurant ours should aspire to be. When fish conservationists began discouraging people from fishing for skate, we discovered that ray was OK – so this dish was born.
Ingredients
- 4 skinned ray wings, about 225g each
- 15g nonpareilles capers in brine, drained and rinsed
For the court-bouillon
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- 300ml dry white wine
- 85ml white wine vinegar
- 2 bay leaves
- 12 black peppercorns
- 1 onion, roughly chopped
- 2 carrots, roughly chopped
- 2 celery sticks, roughly chopped
- 1 tsp salt
For the black butter
- 175g butter
- 50ml red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
Method
- First, make the court-bouillon. Put all the ingredients into a large pan with 1.2 litres of water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Set aside to cool, which will allow the flavour to improve before using.
- Put the ray wings into a large pan. Pour over the court-bouillon, bring to the boil and simmer the wings very gently for 15 minutes until they are cooked through.
- Carefully lift the ray wings out of the pan, leave the excess liquid to drain off and then place the wings on to 4 warmed plates. Sprinkle with the capers and keep warm.
- For the black butter, melt the butter in a frying pan. As soon as it starts to foam, turn quite brown and smell very nutty, add the vinegar, then the parsley. Let it boil down for a minute or so, until slightly reduced. Pour the butter over the ray and serve.
Taken from “The Seafood Restaurant Cookbook” by Rick Stein and Jill Stein, published by Jon Croft Editions at £35. To buy from The Week Bookshop for £31.99 (incl. p&p), visit theweekbookshop.co.uk or call 020 3176 3835.
