← Nouns Cooking · French

Ingredients

• 400 g sole or plaice fillets (or 2 small whole skinned sole)
• 3 tbsp plain flour
• 1 tbsp neutral oil
• 60 g Butter, cubed
• 1 Lemon, juiced
• 1 handful Parsley, finely chopped
• salt and black pepper

Method

1. Pat the fish dry and season it. Dredge in flour and shake off the excess so only a thin film is left.
2. Heat the oil and a knob of the butter in a large frying pan over medium-high heat until foaming. Fry the fillets for 2–3 min a side (a little longer for whole fish) until golden and just opaque. Lift onto warm plates.
3. Wipe the pan, add the remaining butter and cook over medium heat, swirling, for 1–2 min until it turns nut-brown and smells of hazelnuts.
4. Take the pan off the heat and add the lemon juice (it will sputter) and parsley. Spoon the sizzling butter over the fish and serve at once with boiled potatoes or green beans.

Tips

• Use rice flour to make it gluten-free; it gives an extra-crisp coating.
• Watch the butter closely: it goes from brown to burnt in seconds.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

BBC Good Food Great British Chefs