Dover sole à la meunière
Meunière is the reference point for Dover sole and it earns the reputation, a whole fish in foaming brown butter with lemon and parsley and nothing to hide behind. The sole's tight sweet flesh holds its structure on the bone, which is why the dish works. Ask the counter and we skin and trim the whole fish for you free, ready for the pan.
Our version follows the dish as Rick Stein cooks it, a classic he has served for years at The Seafood Restaurant in Padstow and published on his own site. His recipe is worth reading for the story alone.
Ingredients
- 2 whole Dover soles, 400 to 500g each, dark skin removed (ask the counter to skin and trim them, free)
- 3 tbsp plain flour
- 100g butter
- 1 tbsp neutral oil
- juice of 1 lemon
- 2 tbsp chopped parsley
- sea salt and black pepper
Method
- Pat the fish very dry. Season, then dust both sides with flour and slap off every bit of excess. A thin coat browns, a thick one turns pasty.
- Heat the oil with a knob of the butter in a pan large enough for the fish to lie flat. When the foam subsides, lay the first sole in presentation side down.
- Cook for 4 to 5 minutes without moving it, until deep gold at the edges. Turn once with a fish slice and give the second side 3 to 4 minutes.
- The sole is done when the flesh at the head end lifts from the bone with a knife tip and looks pearly rather than glassy. Keep it warm while you cook the second fish.
- Wipe the pan, add the rest of the butter and let it foam and turn hazelnut brown, watching it constantly. Brown is nutty and black is bitter.
- Pull the pan off the heat, add the lemon juice and parsley and swirl.
- Pour the sizzling butter over the fish at the table.
Watch Rick Stein at work:
To serve: Serve on the bone with the butter poured over at the last second so it still sizzles. Steamed potatoes and spinach are the classic partners. To drink, a Chablis or a dry English white.
Shop this recipe: Dover sole and the Dover sole hub. Cut to order at the counter, filleting free.
Photo: Daderot, via Wikimedia Commons, released to the public domain (CC0).
