Sole meunière
Whole Dover sole dusted in flour, fried in butter until golden, then finished with nutty brown butter, lemon juice and parsley.
Method
- 1
Heat the oven to 100°C and put two plates inside to warm.
- 2
Pat the fish dry with kitchen paper and season both sides with salt.
- 3
Spread the flour on a large plate, turn each fish in it to coat lightly and shake off the excess.
- 4
Heat 1 tablespoon of oil and 20 g of the butter in a large frying pan over medium-high heat until the butter foams.
- 5
Lay in one sole, skinned side down, and fry until golden underneath.
- 6
Turn it carefully with a fish slice and cook until the flesh by the bone is white and opaque.
- 7
Move it to a warm plate in the oven. Wipe the pan and cook the second sole the same way with the rest of the oil and another 20 g of butter.
- 8
Wipe the pan clean, add the remaining butter and cook over medium heat until it foams, turns hazelnut brown and smells nutty.
- 9
Take the pan off the heat, add the lemon juice, which will sizzle, then the parsley, and swirl.
- 10
Spoon the foaming butter over the fish and serve at once with lemon wedges.
Notes
- Ask the fishmonger to remove the dark skin and trim the fins. The white skin can stay on.
- Lemon sole or plaice fillets work the same way and need only 2 minutes on each side.
- Brown butter turns from nutty to burnt in seconds, so have the lemon squeezed before you start.
Equipment
Large frying pan, Fish slice, Ovenproof plates