Easy Sole Meuniere - Love it Love it Love it

Most of the time if a recipe says easy and fast I usually say it is a liar, however, the exception to the rule comes from the most glorious Ina Garten. This is really the fastest and easiest dish I have made in a very very very very long time. I am going to make it again tonight and thought I should let you know about it. It is also such a pure dish. The ingredients are so simple - lemon, butter, fish, The End.

The most important step of this recipe is when to add the fish to the butter. I have made this twice - the first time, I waited until the butter browned and it was PERFECTO. The second time, I had ants in my pants and the first two pieces didn't brown as much as I wanted. Most of the time I believe that a recipe is merely a suggested guide of how long to cook something blahdy blah - but I strongly believe this recipe must be followed exactly because Ina knows her shit.

Easy Sole Meuniere
2008, Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics, All Rights Reserved

Ingredients

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 fresh sole fillets, 3 to 4 ounces each
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (3 lemons)
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley

Directions
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Have 2 heat-proof dinner plates ready

Combine the flour, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper in a large shallow plate. Pat the sole fillets dry with paper towels and sprinkle one side with salt.

Heat 3 tablespoons of butter in a large (12-inch) saute pan over medium heat until it starts to brown. Dredge 2 sole fillets in the seasoned flour on both sides and place them in the hot butter. Lower the heat to medium-low and cook for 2 minutes. Turn carefully with a metal spatula and cook for 2 minutes on the other side. While the second side cooks, add 1/2 teaspoon of lemon zest and 3 tablespoons of lemon juice to the pan. Carefully put the fish filets on the ovenproof plates and pour the sauce over them. Keep the cooked fillets warm in the oven while you repeat the process with the remaining 2 fillets. When they're done, add the cooked fillets to the plates in the oven. Sprinkle with the parsley, salt, and pepper and serve immediately.

Fish Pie - Way More Delicious Than It Sounds

So, Friday night, I helped with this fish pie. The recipe comes from a fellow on Top Gear who apparently kicked Gordon Ramsey's ass in fish pie making.

So, yes to answer the question you may not have asked yourself, this is a creamy dish with fish - but yes it also turned out super tasty - so don't get all high and mighty like a creamy creamed pie full of fish is gross when you haven't even given it a chance.

Secondly, following directions is not my forte and apparently I am not the only with this problem as between the two of us we messed up several important steps - HOWEVER it still turned out fabulously glamorous (for a pie made up of fish) so, the mistakes I see as a good thing - ie, not making the following mistakes probably would turn out a fish pie that kicks all other fish pie asses.



James May’s Posh Fish Pie

Pie

2 tbsp butter
4 shallots, finely chopped
½ fennel bulb, finely chopped
1 c dry white wine
1 c Noilly Prat or dry Vermouth
2 c fish stock
2 c heavy cream
1-2 tbsp wholegrain mustard
Sea salt and pepper
1 ¾ lbs mix of white fish fillets (such as cod, haddock, monkfish, coley)
½ lb raw peeled king prawns
Squeeze of lemon juice
Few sprigs of thyme
Small handful of tarragon, flat leaf parsley and chervil leaves, chopped

Pie topping

5 large Desiree (red skinned) potatoes
Milk and butter, for mashing
2 large egg yolks
Method: How to make posh fish pie

1. Heat the butter in a pan and sweat the shallots and fennel until soft. Add the wine and vermouth and reduce by half. Add the stock and bubble away again until reduced by half. -

(MISTAKE NUMBER 1 - We accidentally poured in the cream and began to reduce it before reducing the stock - and then had to add the stock which I am convinced merely added to the length of time it took to reduce the sauce and did not disturb the flavor)

2. Pour in the cream and boil until reduced to a sauce like consistency. Strain through a sieve, discarding the shallot and fennel. Stir in the mustard, check for seasoning then leave to cool.

(MISTAKES 2 and 3 - We forgot to strain out the shallots and fennel - which might have been subconsciously intentional on my part at least as I wanted to include those flavors fully in the dish - however, probably this mistake fucked with the consistency of the pie - although I liked the way it turned out. Also, we forgot to add the mustard until the very end - kind of an after thought - we used dijon - I think it worked out just fine - and I think a stronger whole mustard would be even better)

3. Meanwhile heat the oven to 350˚ F. Check the fish for any small bones, removing any with tweezers, then cut into 3cm chunks. Poach the fish in enough water to cover, with a squeeze of lemon juice and the thyme, until slightly undercooked. Remove the fish from the poaching liquid with a slotted spoon. Gently fold the prawns and fish into the sauce with a little extra lemon juice and chopped herbs. Transfer to an ovenproof baking dish.

4. Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water until tender, and mash with a little milk and butter until smooth. Beat in the egg yolks, then either pipe the mash over the filling or spoon it over for a more rustic finish.

5. Bake the pie for about 20 minutes until bubbling and golden brown on top. Serve with buttered petit pois or spinach. (We served it with the peas)

(NOT SO MUCH A MISTAKE - but we didn't peel the potatoes - and by not doing so - I don't think that they browned properly nor did they crisp up like we might have wanted- but it was STILL super delicious.)

Side note: This dish was also surprisingly tasty as leftovers - I thought the scallops would get tough - or the fish would be semi-icky and it was just as perfect as the first moment the pie landed on my tongue.

I highly suggest making this dish if you don't mind spending a few hours in the kitchen. I did not as we had a lovely time - although maybe it would have been faster if we had paid more attention to the directions and less time - chitchatting and boozing.

The End