Oven-Poached Pacific Sole With Lemon Caper Sauce

Name: Oven-Poached Pacific Sole With Lemon Caper Sauce
Total time: 40 min
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients: 1 1/2 pounds Pacific sole or flounder fillets; Salt and freshly ground pepper; 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil; 3 tablespoons finely chopped shallot; 1 cup dry white wine (you can also use rosé; the sauce will have a pink hue); 1 plump garlic clove, minced or puréed (more to taste); 2 tablespoons capers, rinsed and coarsely chopped; 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice; 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 2 to 4 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

By Martha Rose Shulman

Total Time: 40 minutes
Rating: 5(895)
Notes: Read community notes

A fish piccata of sorts, this dish is easy to make and the lemon-caper sauce marries well with delicate varieties like sole, fluke or flounder, as well as more robust fish like swordfish. Start by laying fish fillets out in a baking dish and seasoning them with salt and pepper. Finely chop some shallots and briefly cook them in a skillet before adding wine. Pour the wine and shallots over the fish, cover with foil and bake until opaque and the fish pulls apart easily when gently probed with a fork. Meanwhile, whisk together garlic, capers, lemon juice and olive oil. When the fish emerges from the oven, pour the liquid from the dish back into the skillet to make a pan sauce. Reduce it to about ¼ cup — thicker than you may imagine — stirring all the while. Add the garlic-caper mixture and some chopped parsley, whisk together and serve on top of the fillets, the mild flesh of the fish bathing in the bright, brawny flavors of the sauce.

Featured in: Oven-Poached Pacific Sole With Lemon Caper Sauce

or to save this recipe.
Subscriber benefit: give recipes to anyone
As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.
Subscribe
Share
Print Options
Include recipe photo

Ingredients

Yield:Serves 4

1½pounds Pacific sole or flounder fillets
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3tablespoons finely chopped shallot
1cup dry white wine (you can also use rosé; the sauce will have a pink hue)

For the Sauce

1plump garlic clove, minced or puréed (more to taste)
2tablespoons capers, rinsed and coarsely chopped
¼cup fresh lemon juice
3tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 to 4tablespoons finely chopped parsley

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Oil or butter one or two baking dishes large enough to accommodate the fish fillets in one layer. Lay the fish in the dish(es) and season with salt and pepper.
Step 2
Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a small or medium skillet and add the shallot. Cook, stirring, until tender and translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the wine to the pan, bring to a boil, and pour the wine and shallots over the fish. Return the skillet to the stove (make sure the heat is off) for later use. Cover the baking dish with foil and place in the oven. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or 5 minutes for each ½ inch of thickness, until the fish is opaque and pulls apart easily with a fork.
Step 3
While the fish is in the oven, whisk together the garlic, capers, lemon juice and olive oil. You can also mash the garlic in a mortar and pestle and work in the capers, lemon juice and olive oil, though I prefer the capers chopped, even some intact, and not puréed.
Step 4
When the fish is done remove it from the oven and carefully transfer to a platter or plates. Cover and keep warm. Pour the liquid in the baking dish into the skillet and turn the heat on high. Reduce, stirring often, to about ¼ cup – it should be thick – and stir in the garlic and caper mixture and the parsley. Whisk together, taste and adjust seasoning, pour over the fish and serve.

Tip

Advance preparation: This is all pretty last minute, but you can prep the sauce before you begin cooking the fish.

Ratings

5 out of 5

895 user ratings

Have you cooked this?

Private Notes

Leave a Private Note on this recipe and see it here.

Cooking Notes

Andrea6 years ago

The sauce is fantastic, but I think it can all be made on the stovetop and work just as well. Less fuss and mess.

bluetomatoes6 years ago

really wait and reduce the sauce at the end -- clings to the fish much better.

parsley -- take it or leave it. frankly think it's a distraction.

I used sole as well. Excellent.

Consider having it on a bed of red quinoa and leafy greens (spinach, kale, beet greens).

Red, green and white = pretty presentation

Rob-in-Philly6 years ago

Don't limit your horizons to the sole family. This works just as well with stripped bass, trout, and light flavored fish like haddock and cod. Shucks it's great with chicken cutlets too...

HBN6 years ago

I just tried this method and it took less time and less clean up. Thanks.

Eliot Quataert5 years ago

didn't have capers. added kalamata olives instead and was great

Edie6 years ago

Prepared tonight using Petrale Sole and it was delicious. But there was too much sauce and it was gray due to the crushed capers. Next time I will simply make a gremolata with the garlic, whole capers, and add zest of 1 lemon. To the reduced poaching sauce I'll add the juice of that lemon at the end. To serve I'll pour the sauce over the fish, dollop with the caper mix, and garnish with a lemon wedge. Yum!!

Janet Kidd5 years ago

I would back off on the lemon juice and keep the fish covered in the oven while making the sauce. It took closer to 10 minutes for it to reduce. Otherwise, it’s a good recipe.

Mary Beth6 years ago

My husband called this elegant and delicious. It was so easy! The only available lemons were Meyer and their juice was fine. I used a combination of chervil and parsley since that was in my garden. I was afraid the garlic (I used a very plump clove) would be too much but it was perfect. The timing was perfect for preparing my potatoes and salad.

Arline from CA6 years ago

Made tonight, good but not fantastic, but probably has more to do with the blandness of the sole than anything else. Might try with another fish as one of the other responders suggested.

Kristin C.6 years ago

I'm not sure if I had an extra super sour lemon or if this recipe just has way too much lemon juice, but I found it too sour. Next time, I'd try 2 tbsp lemon juice and, if needed, add more near the end of the sauce reduction.

Otherwise it was very, very good. I'd make it again with said modifications.

sara4 years ago

Under cook slightly - will cook a bit once off. Takes 10 minutes to reduce

Katie6 years ago

I made this on the stove. It was delicious, and quite easy! I served it with sweet potatoes and broccoli, which I dipped in the sauce, too. G

Sara1 week ago

Seemed fussy for the end result, which I found bland. Could’ve been due to not reducing sauce enough but it was taking forever and didn’t want fish to go cold. Agree that it could’ve been done on the stove with similar or better results.

Hilary2 weeks ago

I made this recipe as instructed but cut it in half as it was just for two of us. I used rosé wine as suggested as an alternative to a white and our fish was sole. My husband and I both thought it was terrific!

wlbiii2 months ago

Delicious and simple. Added some fresh dill as we were short on parsley, and I would do it again. Lovely sauce for delicate sole fillets. Thank you.

Gumbo's Dog House5 months ago

I made this two for tonight so scaled back proportions, a guess, for two frozen Alaskan flounder fillets. Fantastic way to cook white fish. I could eat this every day with crusty French bread to sop up the sauce. Thank you Martha Rose Shulman!

Pat Philipps6 months ago

Made this again after reading the hints. Poached on the stove top, reduced the lemon, left the capers whole. It was delicious.

Alison9 months ago

Did this all on the stovetop, just added fish to poaching liquid, then removed to plate (cover w/foil to keep warm) before completely done, about 5-6 minutes. Then boiled down the poaching liquid and added whisked lemon mixture and poured over fish. Served with microwaved broccoli and couscous with pine nuts, including them in the sauce pour-over. Tasty and healthy. The broccoli is really enhanced by this particular sauce. (Did not include parsley--just didn't have any.)

Josie10 months ago

6-13-23 Sauce is good. Used Dover Sole. Too thin. Cooked only 3 min. But it was mushy. Make the sauce again.

Irina11 months ago

Bright and fresh. I served the fish on a bed of spinach and everyone added the sauce according to their own taste. Next time, a little less garlic.

jackie11 months ago

5/3/23- made with flounder. Next time make the marinade (first sauce) in advance.

Amy K1 year ago

I liked chives with this rather than parsley. Agree with suggestions to make the sauce on the stovetop.

ali1 year ago

Loved it! I put it over a lemon pasta and fresh butter lettuce and - embarrassing- but added an everything bagel seasoning to the fish first. So good.

Ben M1 year ago

Delicious dish, though in our hands it was way too lemony. Recommend adding lemon to taste rather than following recipe exactly. Perhaps start with 1T (1/4 recommended amount) and go from there. We used dover sole.

NECook1 year ago

This was excellent. Just a couple of notes: I used just under a cup of rose because that's what was in the fridge. I used very little salt (a bit less than 1/4 tsp.). Next time, 2 Tbsp. of lemon juice will be sufficient--it was a tad on the lemony side. Super easy and delicious. I love sole, and now I have another tasty recipe for it!

Cindy Hazuka1 year ago

For the finish use I wisked in cubed cold butter instead of oil after turning the heat off for a real treat!

Roberta1 year ago

This was DELICIOUS and I used it on crispy skin salmon filets. I followed other’s notes and made it stovetop, only roughly chopped the capers, and a super plump clove of garlic. Grateful to all for the notes!

Private notes are only visible to you.