Fillet of Sole with Lemon Almond Sauce

I didn't go to the store with the idea of seafood again but I really didn't feel like boning chicken breasts. I can't serve beef two days in a row, Fern doesn't want it that often. Pork immediately after beef isn't usually applauded either so my choices were bone chicken breasts or make some kind of seafood.  I looked at the fish counter, nothing interesting on sale.  I continued on and in the packaged fresh fish there were a few sole fillets on special.  I recently bought sliced almonds and I had lemons in the fridge so the meal practically made itself. One caveat. Don't buy frozen sole, only fresh.  Frozen sole cooks up like mashed potatoes. Not at all appealing.

I peeled potatoes and a carrot and put the potatoes in a pot to boil and the carrot in a steamer.  When the carrots were half done I threw in some frozen peas.  I had a large frying pan with plenty of oil on medium high heat. I put 1 tablespoon of flour in a plastic bag with 1/2 tsp of salt and some fresh ground mixed pepper. I shook each fillet in the bag to coat it and dragged it in the deepest oil in the pan then pulled and dropped it onto to the dryer side. That way each fillet cooked enough in the deep oil so it didn't stick. When I saw browning at the edge I turned them over.

In a small sauce pot I put a couple of tablespoons of butter and 1/4 cup of sliced almonds. I cooked the nuts until they started to take on some color then I took them out of the pot.  I put a tsp of flour in the butter and cooked the flour taste off.  I added an ounce at most of chicken stock and the juice of half a lemon.  Whisk to smooth and put the almonds back in. Add a pinch of salt and taste. It needed a bit more lemon juice. Taste again, excellent.

Sole fillets cook very fast because they are thin.  It helps immensely to have everything ready or almost ready before cooking the fish. Despite it's simplicity it was a very good meal.

Sole with almond lemon sauce

I wanted a nice light fish for dinner and fresh sole is plentiful so I picked up a few small fillets. Potatoes, broccoli and carrots round out the plate.  I first put the potatoes on and prepared the vegetables for the steamer.  The sole was salted then coated with flour and pan fried.  When the vegetables were half done I ran cold water over them to stop cooking.  I let olive oil heat up and cook the bitterness off then I put the cooled vegetables back in to reheat and finish cooking in the oil.  

The sauce was a teaspoon of flour in a tablespoon of butter/oil.  Once the raw flour taste was cooked off I added white wine. I didn't have enough so I added a little milk followed by the slivered almonds. It was more sauce like but didn't taste like much. I added a few drops of almond oil. That added flavour but it wasn't better. Hmmm. I should have stuck with chicken stock but it's too late.  Can I make this taste good by adding acid?  I added a few drops of lemon juice. That seemed to be going in the right direction. I added a teaspoon or two of lemon juice and that woke the sauce up. I wasn't sure if it tasted good or just not bad but it was good enough to go with.  Just in case I didn't give Fern a lot of sauce in case he didn't like it. He loved it and finished the sauce left in the pan!

It was good but I've made better so I'll probably not go that direction again.

Sole Almondine

This was a completely unscripted success.  I went shopping with fish high on the probability list and the only thing on special was sole.  I bought 300 grams, about 3/4 of a pound which turned out to be about 100 gm too much.  I had 1/4 cup of sliced almonds in the cupboard and asparagus was on special for $1.99 which is hard to beat in February. Carrots and mashed potatoes will round out the plate. We'll need a lemon too.

When I got home I looked up sole almondine and basically it is brown the almonds in the pan with some butter then put them aside.  Season some flour in a plastic bag and coat the fish shake'n bake style. Whisk an egg with a tablespoon of milk and some chopped parsley in a bowl .  Dip floured sole in milk/egg mixture and put in medium high oiled frying pan. Fry first side 4 minutes then turn and cook 1 minute.  Take fish out of pan and put a teaspoon of flour in.  Add oil if needed to make a smooth thin paste of the flour.  After a minute pour in some chicken or vegetable stock and a teaspoon of lemon juice. Whisk it smooth, put the almonds in and a pinch of salt. Add more salt or lemon juice if needed.  Plate the potatoes and vegetables then pour the almond sauce over the fish. A few drops of lemon juice over the fish and veggies and serve.  Delicious!

Sole with Almond Lemon Sauce

It was a rainy day inside so neither of us worked up much of an appetite, we both wanted something light and simple. Fresh sole has got to be the easiest protein to cook.  Coat it with flour and salt, drop it in a hot frying pan for a minute, turn it over for nearly a minute and it should be done if the pan was hot enough. A bit less than medium high on my stove.

To fancy it up I make a little sauce. First brown the almonds in a little butter then remove them from the pan.  Put a tsp of flour and 2 tsp oil in the pan. Make a paste and cook the flour taste off for a minute. Pour in 1/4 cup chicken stock and whisk the lumps out. Add as much lemon juice and salt as tastes good. This time I made it quite savory with a hint of lemon.  Fern prefers lemony with savory undertones so it's simple to serve a savory dish then add lemon and serve a lemony one. I definitely added too much sliced almond.

Mashed potatoes and carrots with Brussels sprouts to fill out the plate.  I steam the veggies and finish them in xv olive oil.  Light, clean and simple, a good meal.

Sole with Slivered Almond White Wine Sauce

I was in the mood for fish but not anything fishy.  Fresh sole achieves that. I peeled potatoes and put in salted water on high heat. It takes about twenty minutes for potatoes to cook.  Sliced up a fresh carrot and put in ceramic bowl with frozen peas, put in microwave ready to cook. I broke up the head of lettuce, washed and spun it dry then put it all in big plastic bin.  An english cucumber sliced up was mixed into the lettuce. To make a salad all I have to do is whisk up a vinaigrette, add a handful of salad mix and toss.

I put two teaspoons of butter in my sauce pot and added a tablespoon of slivered almonds. Sprinkle a teaspoon of flour over all and whisk till it bubbles and cooks off the flour taste.  Remove from heat. Whisk in 1/4 cup milk and half as much white wine and a splash of beef stock. Return to heat and bring to a simmer. Simmer for a few minutes to reduce and thicken the sauce if necessary. Since it is a small amount of sauce it can be made first then reheated just before serving.

Start the peas and carrots first then I salted the fish well on one side, it's thin so one side should be enough. Then dredged it in flour. I set it in a large frying pan in hot olive oil.  It should brown quickly at the edges, then turn it over. Remove from pan as soon as it's done, it overcooks in a heartbeat. Drain, mash and add salt, butter and milk to the potatoes. Add butter, salt and black pepper to the peas and carrots.  Put sauce over or under the fish, depending how good the fish looks.

Vinaigrette

2 tsp olive oil

1 tsp canola oil

1-2 tsp raspberry vinegar

salt

pepper

Whisk, add salad mix. I also had mixed sweet peppers diced in the fridge so I threw them in the salad. I chopped up some fresh parsley and added that.  Toss everything and serve.

It seems to be important to serve the salad with the main course. If it's served after, it isn't eaten. I can't eat salad first because it will charge unobstructed through my digestive tract. So serving main course with salad seems to encourage consuming the whole meal. 

Sole Almondine

A friend helped weeding the garden today so I asked him to stay for dinner and also what would he like? Fish. He is from a humble background and any kind of sauce is a novelty he always enjoys. With that in mind I went off to the market.  Sole was on special and I had slivered almonds at home.  New potatoes were also on special so I bought a bag of those too.

I find that black pepper in a white sauce on white fish can look a little unappealing. This time I decided to try white pepper. I put flour, salt and white pepper in a plastic bag and shook all the fish to coat. The fish was cut up into pieces about the size of my spatula so they would be easy to turn. I fried them till they had a little color on each side.

I haven't been particularly happy with the results when I've tried to toast the almonds in butter, I get them too dark. This time I decided to do them right in the sauce pan.  I started with 2 tablespoons of cooking oil, a pad of butter and 2 tablespoons of flour.  I cooked off the flour taste then added the almonds.  I continued to fry them until the flour and nuts took on a hint of color.  Then I added chicken stock to thin, an ounce of white wine and the juice of half a lemon.  I added a healthy pinch of salt and tasted. The deep flavor from the chicken stock overlaid with fruitiness of the wine, butter and almond and the tang of lemon, delicious!

The potatoes were just boiled then salted and buttered, chives I scissored over top on the plate. The vegetables I did in the microwave with an ounce of chicken stock.  I did my potatoes in the base of the steamer so I had to microwave the veggies.  I know I can get better flavor if I par boil them then dunk them in ice water to stop them cooking and fry them to finish, but I have to plan ahead to do that. In any case, our friend thoroughly enjoyed the meal.

Sole with Lemon Almond Sauce

When I asked Fern what he wanted for dinner he said, "Anything light."

That usually means fish but I didn't feel like dealing with snapper so I settled on fresh sole fillets. I had two more cobs of the wonderful sweet California corn and plain white rice to fill out the plate.  I put some soy sauce on my rice but Fern has his plain.

To prepare the fish I cut the fillets in half, salted them and coated them with flour.  The corn on the cob was boiled for 20 minutes and the rice was done in the microwave utilizing the automatic Rice setting. I put the fillets in a pan of hot oil.  The sauce was a bit of butter to brown the sliced almonds then a teaspoon of flour.  I cooked the flour taste off for a minute then took the pan off the heat and added chicken stock till I had a thin sauce. Turn the fish over. A dash of lemon juice, some salt and taste.  If it's too lemony add stock or salt. If it's too savoury add lemon. 

I put a pad of butter on the corn and salted it all round. When I looked at my plate I realized I had a monochrome dinner.  Even a few chives would have helped! It was raining and chives were just cosmetic so I decided to forego them. When I look at the dish now it's appearance really bothers me.  That's a big change in my attitude towards food. A good change.

Despite it's look the food was wonderful. The lemon juice really perks up the fresh chicken stock.  The soy tempers the sweetness of the corn. We both left the table full but not stuffed.