broiled tilapia with lemon buerre blanc

i have some explaining to do. you see, i thought there were two classes of meatless eaters: vegetarians, who abstain from meat, but eat eggs, dairy products, animal products, and fish, and vegans who eat no animal products whatsoever. when i mentioned that january is vegetarian around here, i honestly didn't realize there were so many kinds of vegetarian. good thing wikipedia set me straight:

ovo vegetarian: eats eggs but not dairy products
lacto vegetarian: eats dairy products but not eggs
vegan: eats no animal flesh and animal products
raw vegan: eats only fresh & uncooked fruits, nuts, seeds, and vegetables
fruitarian: eats fruit, nuts, seeds, and other plant matter than can be gathered without harming the plant
pescetarian: eats fish & shellfish and no meat

as it turns out, mom and i didn't realize at the time, we're really pescetarians for the month, since we've limited our "meat" consumption to fish and shellfish only, eliminating all meat from animals that walk.

buerre blanc. sounds fancy, doesn't it? i lot fancier than "butter sauce," which is really a better description. and really, who is going to turn down anything covered in rich, lemony butter sauce? i bet this could convert even the biggest carnivore into a fish eater.

broiled tilapia with lemon buerre blanc
adapted from the joy of cooking
15 minutes, serves 2

2 tilapia fillets
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 tablespoons dry sherry or white wine
2 tablespoons lemon juice (juice from 1 lemon)
3 tablespoons minced shallot
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold, cut into about 8 pieces
salt, pepper, paprika

1. preheat your oven to broil (500F). place the fish fillets in a large casserole dish. coat both sides with olive oil and season with salt, pepper, and paprika.
2. cook the fish about 5 to 10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish.
3. while the fish cooks, make the buerre blanc. combine the sherry, lemon juice, and shallots in a small skillet over medium heat. bring to a simmer and cook until reduced by three quarters.
4. stir in the cream and remove from heat.
5. use a whisk and add the butter, one pat at a time, until the sauce is smooth. when adding the butter, add each piece when there's a tiny sliver of the last piece left, or you risk the sauce separating.
6. serve the buerre blanc over the fish. 

2014.08.04 this was chit, chat, chomp's pick for the secret recipe club!