Pan-fried lemon sole with verde butter
Lemon sole is a fabulous fish, often mistakenly considered to be in the sole family, although it in fact belongs to the same clan as plaice and halibut.
SERVES
4
PEOPLE
Ingredients
For the Verde butter
1 lemon
2 tsp capers
80g gherkin chopped
1 small onion chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
4 anchovy fillets
1tbsp Dijon Mustard
¼ tsp black pepper ground
1 bunch flat leaf parsley
454g Salted Butter diced (at room temperature)
1tb dill finely chopped
1tb chervil finely chopped
For the lemon sole
400g lemon sole fillets
2tb rapeseed oil
Fine sea salt
Method
For the verde butter
Juice and zest the lemon and place in a food processor with the capers, gherkins, onion, garlic, anchovy, Dijon, black pepper and parsley. Blend until a smooth paste is formed.
Add the diced butter to a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and whip on medium speed until softened.
Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl and add half of the pureed mix, whip on a low speed before adding the second half.
Initially, the mixture will look split, keep mixing and scraping down the sides and the mixture will emulsify.
Once emulsified, add the finely chopped dill and chervil and gently fold through.
To serve, warm two tablespoons per person of the butter in a small pot over a low heat, stirring all the time to prevent the sauce from splitting.
For the lemon sole
Preheat oven to 200°C.
Pat the fillets of fish dry with some kitchen paper to remove any excess water. Season with fine sea salt.
Preheat a carbon steel or non-stick frying pan on medium-high heat for two minutes. Add the oil and warm.
Working in batches, place the lemon sole in the pan, laying the fillets skin side down and away from you, to avoid oil splatters. Do not disturb the fillet or move the pan.
Once the fish is golden brown on one side, use a fish slice to confidently lift the fillet from the pan and place on a lightly greased tray.
Once all the fillets are seared on one side, place the tray in the oven for 2-3 minutes to finish cooking, depending on the size of the fish.
Serve with the verde butter.
