Book Club Sole
Light but luscious. I created this one day on the fly when I had twelve people showing up for dinner in less than two hours.
I created this recipe for my book club group. Light but luscious. Since sole is not a very flavorful fish, this is all about adding zesty flavors. You can put most of this together the night before, then pop it into the oven and have it on the table in 20 minutes. This recipe makes 6 servings.
Ingredients for red pepper cream
1 large red bell pepper
1 clove chopped garlic
4 tablespoons sour cream
4 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
salt and pepper
Ingredients for corn relish
2 fresh cobs of corn (or 2 cups of frozen corn kernels)
1/2 stick butter
2 cloves chopped garlic
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
pinch of cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons white wine
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
salt and pepper
3 tablespoons lemon juice
Ingredients for the sole
6 filets of sole (Where we buy these, they are quite thin and small. I usually use two filets for each serving, which would be a total 12 filets if you’re serving 6. However, it all depends on the size of fish available to you.)
6 tablespoons butter melted with 1 grated clove of garlic
3 tablespoons grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and pepper
6 large basil leaves
12 lightly blanched asparagus spears
6 tablespoons lemon juice
6 tablespoons finely grated parmesan cheese
1/3 cup basil pesto for garnish
Make ahead steps
Red pepper cream. Char a large red bell pepper over your gas stovetop until the skin is totally black. If you don’t have a gas stovetop, then cut the pepper in half, remove the seeds, rub it with olive oil and set it in your oven at 400 degrees until it is mostly black. Once the skin is black, wrap it in several wet paper towels until it is cool enough to handle. Then peel the skin from the pepper, make sure all seeds are removed and put it into a food processor with the garlic. Add the sour cream, juice of lemon, paprika, salt, and pepper. Blend until smooth. This can be made a day ahead.
Roasted corn relish. Take the corn kernels off two cobs of corn. Saute in 1/2 stick butter with 2 cloves of chopped garlic. Add chopped parsley, cayenne pepper, white wine, chopped cilantro, salt and pepper, and lemon juice. Let this cook for a few minutes, then set the saute pan under the broiler and let the edges of some of the corn get slightly brown on top.
Cook and serve the sole
Lay each fillet of sole out flat on a work surface. Brush both sides with melted garlic butter. Sprinkle one side with lemon zest, cayenne pepper, and ground pepper. Put a few basil leaves on top. Take two spears of lightly blanched asparagus and lay them on top of each seasoned sole. Wrap the sole around the asparagus into a roll. Scroll the fish around the asparagus so it is evenly thick.
Place the rolled fish in a buttered Pyrex baking pan. Brush the fish with more butter and put a spoonful of fresh lemon juice over each roll. Sprinkle generously with finely grated Parmesan and more salt and pepper.
Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, depending on how thick your fish is. It should just barely be done. Then turn the broiler on and let it stay just a few minutes until the top is slightly golden.
Place the fish on a bed of the red pepper cream.
Place a spoonfull of basil pesto on top of the fish then sprinkle with corn relish