Dover sole with lemon butter sauce recipe

A simple dish that relies on the quality of the fish and the balance of lemon juice and browned butter

Sole was the most prized of all sea fish, rivalled only by turbot during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The size of the sole you served or ate reflected your wealth and standing in society. In the 1914 edition of Le Répertoire de la Cuisine, the handbook of all aspiring chefs to the gentry, there were 340 different ways of presenting sole fillets. There are, however, more humble ways of preparing sole, one of the best being the French classic sole à la meunière (sole in the style of the miller’s wife) – a straightforward dish that relies on the quality of the sole, the cooking time and the balancing of the lemon juice and browned butter.
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
 4
*Clarified butter reaches a higher heat than ordinary butter when all the milk solids that could burn are removed. It is ideal for cooking delicate fish. An easy way to clarify butter is to put a block of butter in a pan and add a cupful of water. Heat slowly until the butter is melted and frothy. Pour it into a bowl, then cool and chill. The clarified butter will rise to the top as it cools. When the butter has set hard, the solidified layer can be lifted off the watery milk solids underneath and used for cooking. Discard the liquid.
Recipe from The Gourmand’s Lemon: A Collection of Stories and Recipes (Taschen, £40)