Sole à la Meunière
Classic bistro cooking at its best, sole à la meunière maintains a balance between nutty brown butter and the lilt of lemon. A simple dish with a complex taste.
Ingredients
- 6 Dover sole fillets*
- 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper, plus more to taste
- 3/4 cup flour
- 6 tablespoons olive oil or unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 sticks (6 oz) unsalted butter
- Juice of 2 lemons, (1/4 cup)
- 1/4 cup roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°F (149°C).
- Use paper towels to pat the sole fillets dry and season both sides with 3/4 teaspoon of the salt and the white pepper.
- Place the flour on a plate and season it with a little more salt and white pepper. Dredge the fillets in the flour and shake off the excess.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil or butter in a large nonstick saute pan over a medium-high flame until hot but not smoking. Add 2 of the fillets and cook until lightly golden on each side, about 3 minutes. Move the fillets to a baking sheet and place in the warm oven to keep warm. Wipe out the pan, add 2 more tablespoons of oil or butter to the pan to heat, and repeat with 2 more fillets. Repeat with the remaining 2 fillets.
- Place all the cooked fillets to the oven. Wipe the pan clean and place over a medium flame. Add the 12 tablespoons of butter to the pan and let it melt, foam, subside, begin to bubble again, and turn a nutty brown. Immediately remove from the heat and carefully add the lemon juice, parsley, the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and several grindings of white pepper to taste. (Be careful as the butter will most likely spatter angrily when you add the lemon juice.)
- Serve the fillets on warm plates and spoon some of the sauce over each one. Originally published July 18, 2010.
Nutrition
Serving: 1portion | Calories: 423kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 137mg | Sodium: 627mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 0.2g