Sole Meunière

Lately, I've been learning more about cooking French dishes, so here comes Sole Meunière for today's post.  Sole Meunière involves dredging the fish in flour, pan-frying it, and then serving with a brown butter sauce.  Sole is traditionally served with boiled potatoes (and, of course some white wine).  A side of steamed green beans, roasted asparagus, or a light salad with mild greens would enhance this simple yet elegant dish.

This was one of Julia Child's first meals when she arrived in Paris.  She described it as "perfectly browned in a sputtering butter sauce with a sprinkling of chopped parsley.  I closed my eyes and inhaled the rising perfume... the flesh of the sole was delicate, with a light but distinct taste of the ocean that blended marvelously with the browned butter..  She described it as, "a morsel of perfection... It was the most exciting meal of my life."  

Hungry yet?

Sole Meunière
Yields 2 servings

Ingredients:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tbsp. dried parsley
7 tbsp. butter
1 lb. skinned sole fillets (4 4-oz. fillets)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper

Directions:
In a shallow plate or pie pan, mix the flour, salt, and pepper.  Rinse the sole and pat dry.  If the fillets are longer than 5 or 6 inches, cut them in half so that they are easier to flip.

Preheat oven to 200ºF and have a nonstick sheet pan set aside.

Heat 3 tablespoons of butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat until it begins to brown.  While the butter browns, dredge two of the fillets in the flour on both sides, and then place them in the sauté pan.  Cook for 2 minutes, and then flip, cooking for 2 more minutes.  When finished, place the fillets on the sheet pan and keep warm in the oven.  Leave the melted butter in the sauté pan.  Repeat the process with the remaining fillets.  After all the fillets are in the oven, add lemon juice and the remaining tablespoon of butter to the remaining butter in the sauté pan.  As the butter begins to become bubbly, add parsley to the sauté pan and any desired salt and pepper.   Remove the fillets from the oven, plate, and serve with sauce.

Source: A Simply Sweet Justice Original