Catfish Fillets in White Wine and Mushroom Sauce

This recipe comes from an old copy of "Cooking with Craig Clairborne and Pierre Franey". In my opinion, an elegant preparation without too much fuss. I don't have access to catfish myself, but use tilapia with excellent results. Basa or any other fine white fish fillet could be substituted.

• Ready In: 40 mins
• Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 6  catfish fillets (about 2 lbs)
• 5  tablespoons butter, divided
• 1⁄2 cup dry white wine
• 8  ounces mushrooms, thinly sliced
•  salt and pepper, to taste
• 2  tablespoons flour
• 1⁄2 cup milk
• 1⁄2  lemon, juice of
• 2  tablespoons parmesan cheese, freshly grated
• 2  tablespoons parsley, finely chopped

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 400°F.
2. Wash fish fillets and pat dry; rub the bottom of a baking dish large enough to hold the fillets in one layer with 1 TBS of the butter.
3. Arrange the fish in the baking dish then pour the wine over the fish.
4. Scatter the mushrooms over all then salt and pepper to taste.
5. Place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, melt the remaining 4 TBS butter in a saucepan and add the flour, using a whisk to blend completely, then add the milk and cook until thickened and smooth, whisking all the while (this should go pretty quickly!).
7. After the fish have baked for 10 minutes, remove pan from the oven and very carefully pour the liquid into the white sauce (get as much of it as you can but it isn't necessary to get every last drop).
8. Bring the contents of the saucepan once again to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring as needed to prevent sticking (I whisk just about constantly).
9. After this time, remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice, then pour the contents over the fish.
10. Return fish to oven and bake an additional 10 minutes.
11. To serve, sprinkle parmesan and parley over the top of each serving.