The soul of Sole

A Sole fish is a type of flat fish that lives half buried in the muddy bottom of the ocean. These fishes are highly prized for their flesh and “Common Sole” or “Dover Sole” is the one most sought after. There is one very interesting fact about the sole fish, it is born as a typical flat fish with eyes on each side of the head but as it matures, one of its eye migrates to the right side of head. This helps the fish prey on nearby prey while it is half buried in ground. The sole fish feeds on sea worms and shrimps. There are mainly two varieties of sole fish namely Dover Sole and Lemon Sole. Lemon Soles have rounder bodies and lighter colouration on the side without eye. They both have clean tasting, slightly sweet flesh. You can replace one with the other in almost all the recipes. Flounders is one close variety of fish that resembles Sole but is definitely less regarded as the Sole fish. The most popular recipe of Sole is Sole a la Meuniere, which translates as “in the style of miller’s wife” and denotes to the fish being dusted with flour before cooking. The fish is sautéed in clarified butter until its golden brown and crispy and then it is finished with a bit of brown butter, lemon and parsley. Many other recipes also call for rolling the sole fillet with a filling and then cooking it covered either baked or steamed. Dover Sole is also known as Slime or Slippery Sole because they excrete mucous that makes it difficult to hold them. You can select fresh or frozen Sole fillet for your favourite fish recipe. Chefs prefer to cook with Sole as it is a delicate fish with mild flavour which is easy to blend with other ingredients and the flesh holds its scales even without the bones and skin. Sole is my personal favourite when it comes to fish tikka, roasting it in oven marinated with Indian spices makes a superb dish. This fish holds its flakes even when cooked and tastes so well compared to other fishes. During my days at cruise liners and working for one of the best restaurants in sea, one of our signature dishes was pan seared Dover Sole, which was always in demand and was widely appreciated. I used to cook the whole Dover Sole and debone it after cooking it to further exceed the guest expectations. Sole has always been considered as a mainstay for European cuisine and have also had the honour to be filleted on the table side in fine dining establishments. They are even considered as a replacement for roast turkey for celebrations. Dover Sole is also called the king of Soles as it has a crisp, firm flesh with an almost sweet taste. It is too soft to cook immediately after being caught so cooks prefer to use it after a day, once the texture matures and the flavours improve. Dovers range from 350 grams to 1.4 kg in size. Although smaller sizes are also caught and are economical than the bigger ones. Pan Seared Sole Fish FilletIngredientsSole fish fillets 1 kgRefined flour ½ cupOlive oil 2 tbspButter 4 tbspLemon juice 1/3 cupSea salt to tasteBlack pepper to tasteCapers 2 tbspGarnishLemon wedges to garnishParsley sprigs to garnishMethodWash and pat dry the sole fish fillets and cut them into serving size diamond shape.Season the fish with salt and black pepper and rub all over to evenly coat the seasoning.Heat a skillet over medium heat and melt butter along with some olive oil.Now gently place the presentation side of the fish first in the skillet and cook till golden brown.Turn to cook from other side till the fish is cooked.Now add lemon juice and capers to the skillet and let the butter and oil sizzle.Rotate the pan to spread the sauce evenly all over the fish, turn to season from other side also.Remove the fillet and place on the serving plate, heat the sauce again and reduce to make it thick, add soft butter if required.Add chopped parsley and pour over the prepared fish fillets, serve hot with choice of steamed vegetables on the side.Note: One thing that you need to keep in mind while cooking the Sole is never to overcook it as it will become dry, and curl up. Also the flavour of the fish matures in a day or two so let your fish fillet rest for better tasting dish.* Chef Tarun Kapoor, Culinary Mastermind, USA. He may be contacted at tarunkapoor83@gmail.com