Cooking a whole Dover sole like they do at Petit Trois is no easy task (and can turn into an expensive mistake). We modified their sole meunière recipe using fillets instead; equally delicious—and no tears.
Ingredients
4 Servings
Pilaf
2
½
1½
1
4
Sauce and Assembly
1
⅓
¼
1
4
4
2
2
Preparation
Pilaf
Step 1
Preheat oven to 375°. Heat oil in a medium ovenproof saucepan over medium. Add onion, season with kosher salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent and softened, 5–8 minutes. Add rice and stir to coat; cook, stirring occasionally, until rice is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add bay leaf and 3 cups water; season with kosher salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer. Cover and bake in oven until rice is tender and water is absorbed, 15–20 minutes.
Step 2
Remove rice from oven and let sit 5 minutes, then gently fluff with a fork. Top with butter; let it melt into rice, then sprinkle with fleur de sel.
Sauce and Assembly
Step 3
Cook 1 cup unsalted butter in a small saucepan over medium, stirring often, until butter foams, then browns, 5–8 minutes. Remove from heat and slowly add cream (it will foam up slightly). Return to medium heat and cook, stirring often, until cream browns (mixture will go from pale beige to a deep caramel color), 5–8 minutes. At this point, sauce will look broken and grainy, but it will come back together. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice and ½ cup water. Cut 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter into small pieces. Whisking constantly, add butter a piece at a time, incorporating completely before adding the next piece, until sauce is glossy; season with salt and pepper. Keep sauce warm while you cook the fish.
Step 4
Place flour in a shallow baking dish. Season sole with salt and pepper, then dredge both sides of fillets in flour, shaking off excess.
Step 5
Heat clarified butter in a large skillet over medium-high until smoking. Carefully add fillets and cook until underside is golden brown, about 2 minutes. Gently turn fillets and cook until golden brown on the other side, about 1 minute. Add remaining 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter and cook a minute or so until brown. Remove skillet from heat and, using a large spoon, baste fish with butter for a minute or two to finish cooking.
Step 6
Transfer sole to a platter. Spoon lemon cream sauce over; top with parsley. Serve with rice pilaf and lemon halves alongside.
Nutrition Per Serving
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Reviews (36)
Back to TopNow I know why restaurant fish dishes are so delicious...it's the 3 sticks of butter!! This definitely isn't a light, healthy meal, but if you are looking for something that is relatively simply to cook yet feels luxurious and restaurant-quality, you won't regret making it. Works with just about any seafood, too. Serve with a bright, acidic salad to cut through the richness.
lasagnaqueen
Portland, Oregon
12/29/2021
Huge fan over here! The recipe actually gets better the more you make it because the sauce is technical so you get the rhythm down after the first go. It's just like sitting at the counter at Petit Trois! Yum.
Anonymous
Los Angeles
4/29/2020