Rockfish with French Herb Chef Butter, Rigatoni and Zucchini

Fish these days! Seems like it’s harder and harder to get fresh fish. Where we live, rockfish is always available right out of the bay. It’s versatile, excellent for fish tacos and Chinese stir fry. We take this common fish up several notches with the addition of French Herb Chef Butter, an elegant refined flavor from haute French cuisine.

I used both varieties of zucchini, Mexican grey and the classic dark green, called Dunja, and some baby leeks. I cut the squash and leeks in sticks, about the same thickness as the rigatoni and sautéed them in Roasted Shallot Chef Butter. Scallions work well here too, just add them with the pasta as they cook quickly. Rockfish can have a high moisture content so set the slices on paper towels to remove excess liquid. This will help the fish crisp up in the pan and avoid sticking. The fish is cooked with olive oil in my copper skillet, but any nonstick will do. A dollop of French Herb Chef Butter right on top before serving. Let the butter come to room temperature so it melts when it hits the crispy fish.

Keyword: Monterey Farms Chef Butter

Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 pound fresh rigatoni
4 each summer squash, yellow, crookneck, zucchini, whatever looks the freshest at the market
4 each baby leeks or scallions
2 medallions Roasted Shallot Chef Butter
3 Tbs olive oil
6 each 6 ounce portions rockfish
6 medallions French Herb Chef Butter at room temperature
Kosher salt
fresh ground pepper

Instructions

Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook the pasta until al dente, or to your liking. Strain the pasta, saving a cup of pasta water. Cool the pasta in a colander with fresh water.
Heat the Roasted Shallot Chef Butter and 1 Tbs olive oil in a large skillet. Sauté the summer squash and leeks/scallions until tender. Season with sea or kosher salt and add the pasta and 1/4 cup pasta water. Toss in the butter until the pasta is cover with the sauce and divide the mixture between 6 warm pasta bowls. Keep warm.
Rinse the skillet. Over medium high heat, add the rest of the olive oil. Season the fish and add the pieces to the skillet when the oil shimmers. Cook about 2 minutes a side depending on the thickness of the fish. Go for medium rare to medium. Rockfish is very forgiving and does not dry out if overcooked. Place the fish on the warm pasta and top with a medallion of French Herb Butter.