Sole Meunière
The only way to celebrate this exciting news was to cook up a classic French dish. If you’ve read Julia Child’s “My Life in France” or watched “Julie and Julia”, you’d know that sole meunière is one of the first dishes Julia had in Paris and one she said sparked her love for French food.
“Meunière” literally means “miller’s wife.” It refers to a method of cooking that dredges something in flour and pan-frys it in lemon butter sauce with parsley. I’ve seen a few variations of this dish, including adding capers at the end and dipping the fillets in milk and white wine before dredging in flour. But I prefer this original version that showcases the nutty browned butter and citrusy lemon.
Sole is a flatfish with delicate texture and mild taste. There are many different varieties of sole. Dover sole is the classic variety for this recipe. It is important to make sure your fish is fresh. I look for fillets that are firm. I also try to make sure it doesn’t have any rotten fishy smell.
This dish is elegant enough for entertaining and easy enough for a busy weeknight. You will be amazed at how just a few everyday ingredients can make this dish so refreshing and special. Give it a try, maybe it will too inspire a French vacation.
Sole Meunière
Adapted from “Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics” by Ina Garten
- All-purpose flour, 1/2 cup
- Salt, 2 teaspoons, plus more for sprinkling
- Pepper, 1 teaspoon
- Sole, 4 fillets, 3 to 4 ounces each
- Lemon zest, grated, 1 teaspoon
- Freshly-squeezed lemon juice, 6 tablespoons, from about 3 lemons
- Fresh parsley, minced, 2 tablespoons
Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Heat 2 heat-proof dinner plates ready.
Pat sole fillets dry with paper towels and sprinkle one side with some salt.
Combine flour, salt and pepper in a big shallow plate.
Heat 3 tablespoons of butter in a 12-inch saute pan over medium heat until it starts to brown. Dredge two sole fillets in the flour mixture on both sides and place in the hot butter. Low the heat to medium-low and cook for 2 minutes. Turn carefully with a metal spatula and cook for two minutes on the other side. While the second side cooks, add half of the lemon zest and juice to the pan.
Plate the fillets on the warmed plates and pour any pan sauce over them. Keep the cooked fillets warm in the oven while you repeat with the remaining two fillets.
Sprinkle cooked fillets with parsley and serve immediately.
Serves 4.
Sounds sooo fancy! I will have to try it. We love to eat fish, so it will be the perfect addition to our regular recipes.
I ate this. It was pretty damn good.
Thats the only way my mom used to cook fish while growing up. I’ll have to try to make it taste like in my memory.
[...] *Adapted from Phoebe Bites. [...]