Active Time
35 min
Total Time
35 min
Ingredients
Makes 4 main-course servings
For fish
For beurre blanc
Preparation
Prepare fish:
Step 1
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 450°F.
Step 2
Brush a 13- by 9-inch roasting pan with some of melted butter, then sprinkle shallot and zest in pan.
Step 3
Trim asparagus to about 7 inches long, then peel spears starting from 2 inches below tip of each.
Step 4
Arrange fish fillets, skinned sides up, on a work surface and season with salt and pepper. Lay 5 or 6 asparagus perpendicularly across 1 fillet and wrap fish around them to make a bundle. Repeat with remaining fillets and asparagus. Transfer bundles, seam sides down, to roasting pan and brush fish with remaining melted butter. Season with salt and pepper, then add water to pan. Cover pan tightly with foil and bake until fish is just cooked through and asparagus is crisp-tender, about 20 minutes.
Make beurre blanc while fish bakes:
Step 5
Boil tangerine juice with shallot in a 2-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat until reduced to about 2 tablespoons, 4 to 5 minutes. Reduce heat to moderately low, then whisk in 1 tablespoon butter, whisking constantly. Add remaining butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, whisking constantly, adding each piece before previous one has completely melted, and lifting pan from heat occasionally to cool mixture. Remove from heat and stir in salt, cayenne, and lemon juice.
Step 6
Transfer fish with a slotted spatula to a platter and reserve pan juices. Cover fish with foil. Discard zest, then pour pan juices into a 10-inch skillet and boil over moderately high heat until reduced to about 2 tablespoons, about 2 minutes. Gradually whisk into beurre blanc.
Step 7
Blot any liquid accumulated on platter with paper towels, then spoon sauce over fish.
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Reviews (61)
Back to TopA girlfriend and I both made this while talking over zoom. We made the beurre blanc and it was amazing. It was so good she didn’t want to bother reducing the fish juices and adding them to the sauce, but I had time and decided to do it. That took the sauce from amazing to astounding!! I didn’t expect it to make such a delicious difference. So she followed suit and we both loved it. Wrapping the asparagus looks fancy but I don’t think I’ll do that again. It had to be unwrapped to eat gracefully, and the plate can be just as beautiful without wrapping.
Kj
San Jose CA
2/19/2022
so elegant and delicious. The asparagus was perfectly tender-crisp and the sole was just cooked through. The acid in the sauce offset the richness of the butter. I subbed orange for the tangerine, which is not in season.
ellenrls
Baltimore
8/21/2017
It looked beautiful on the plate, no adjustments, but so blah bland. It took more than 20 minutes to cook through as well. Would not make it again, especially with the sauce.
N2dzine2
4/2/2013
This is absoolutely fabulous! It is easy, it is elegant, it's in my permanent recipe file!
mmb1111950
OH
8/2/2012
This looks amazing. I am totally into flavored beurre blancs these days, especially orange or other citrus. The latest attempt will be this recipe i just found on Neurotic Kitchen dotcom for an orange ginger beurre blanc over scallops!
Vermaid23
4/16/2012
Excellent dish, and beautiful presentation. Wowed my husband and guests. Will make again and again!
taebatha
12/16/2011
This is Beautiful!!! Make it!!!
agarwood
Trieste, Italy
10/25/2011
Great recipe. I also needed to substitute fresh orange peel and juice because tangerines were not available. Next time less butter, more herbs. A nice change of pace.
Anonymous
Cherry Hill, NJ
9/13/2011
This is a great recipe. Good flavors and the presentation is stunning! It is such an easy recipe that goes together quickly. I followed the recipe with the exception of replacing some of the water with 1/4 C white wine. also I brushed the roasting pan and fish with Pasolivo tangerine olive oil instead of melted butter. Used Baja Pacific Halibut which is a mild, sweet white fish. The aspargus were med-size, didn't peel the stalks and they were a perfect crisp-tenderness. This is definitely a great, easy meal for family and for company. It's a keeper.
dory92064
san Diego, CA
8/7/2011
It was definitely delicious but maybe a lot of work for not a lot of food!
Anonymous
London, UK
8/1/2011
Loved this dish: delicious, elegant and easy! Who knew those three could coexist in one recipe ;) Like other reviewers I cut the butter in half and it wasn't noticeable at all. I also added half white wine and half water which made the fish that much more tasty. I served it with some wild rice, which made for a light and elegant dinner. Next time I think I'll try some herbs in the sauce. Overall, highly recommended.
norasoledad
Mountain View, CA
4/3/2011
Correction: make that "water" not "eater". :)
sunnycooks
3/19/2011
Truly exceptional! I used clementines because that's what I had on hand. For the two of us, 3/4 lb. sole fillets worked beautifully with 1 bunch of asparagus. Like some others, I substituted dry white wine (Pinot Grigio) for half the eater, which was a very good call. I also sprinkled a little Herbs de Provence over the fish before baking. Only needed about half the amount of butter for the sauce, and lime in place of lemon in the sauce was also just fine. Did not blanch the asparagus, but peeling was good since these were not super thin. Served it with tri-color couscous with currants. Absolutely delicious!
sunnycooks
2/15/2011
I really liked this - threw in my drinking white for 1/2 the water, loved the extra winey tang and only had half a stick of butter in the fridge which was just fine for the entire recipe. It needed something - an herb? tarragon? - to be complete for me, altho just saw the caviar garnish idea and that felt right too. Served this with lemon risotto cakes, which was very good. Keeper, especially in asparagus season!
standardart
1/21/2011
I LOVED this meal!! Since I didn't have a tangerine around the house, I used a navel orange for the juice and zest instead. I also added some fresh rosemary to the melted butter used to set the roasting pan and fish prior to cooking as I love the flavor and aroma rosemary adds. I also added some fresh sage to the Beurre Blanc sauce and served the whole delicious bundle over some italian orzo and it was a big hit! This one is definitely going into the arsenal for a relatively easy dish that tastes SO yummy and looks really sophisticated and elegant. My dinner guests are still raving about it; yours will too!!!
Canadagrrrl
Chicago
1/21/2011
