(Photo: Carlos Sarmiento)
It has been decades since I had a nice fillet of sole, a thin and flaky white fish that is part of the flounder family, mainly found in European waters.
(Photo: Portuguese Gravity)
Also known as lenguado, sole is a wonderfully easy to cook fish that can be served simply as is or with delicate butter-based sauces.
This fish also merits side dishes that enhances the flavors like whipped mashed potatoes made with Dutch yellow potatoes and zesty asparagus.
(Photo: Nick Karvounis)
To bring this whole dish to the next sensory level, I am pairing it with the perfect Sauvignon Blanc wine, which I find it to be the best wine for sole and the asparagus because of its balance of acidity and the fragrant citrus aromas that truly accentuates all the flavors.
Let‘s get cooking!
Menu: Braised sole & shrimps with tarragon butter sauce with whipped mashed potatoes and lemon-zest asparagus.
Wine pairing: 2018 Flat Top Hills Wines - Sauvignon Blanc (California)
Serves 4
Ingredients Fish:
4 filets of sole (approximately 3/4 pounds each) skinless and deboned
Sea salt & pepper
4 tablespoons of extra Virgin olive oil
1/4 cup of white wine
1 lemon, cut in thick slices
Shrimps:
12 jumbo fresh shrimps, tail-on, peeled and deveined
1 garlic clove, minced
Sea salt & pepper
3 tablespoons of extra Virgin olive oil
Sauce:
1 garlic clove, finely minced
1 medium shallot, finely minced
1 tablespoon of fresh tarragon, finely chopped
2 tablespoons of extra Virgin olive oil
3/4 cups of vegetable stock
3/4 white wine
4 tablespoons of butter
Juice of 1 lemon
Potatoes:
1 (24 oz) package of yellow Dutch potatoes
1/2 cup of milk, warmed
1/2 cup of heavy cream, warmed
1/4 cup of salted butter, softened
Asparagus:
1 pack of asparagus spears
Zest of 1 lemon
Sea salt & pepper
Extra Virgin olive oil for drizzling
1/4 cup of fresh basil, hand torn (for final garnish)
Directions
Mashed potatoes:
Boil potatoes until thoroughly cooked (a knife can go smoothly through it).
Drain potatoes and transfer to a large and deep mixing bowl.
Begin mashing potatoes and adding butter. Mix well.
Add warm milk and mix. Add warm cream and mix again. You may want to to use an electric mixer to make a much more creamer potatoes (I used one).
Set aside, but keep warm.
Fish:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Place sole fillets flat on a large and shallow oven-proof dish. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
Place lemon slices on top and in between fish fillets.
Drizzle extra Virgin olive oil on top of fish.
Add wine around and in between fish fillets.
Bake in oven for 30-40 minutes or until lightly golden.
Asparagus:
Place asparagus on an oven-proof deep dish or pyrex.
Season with salt and pepper. Spread lemon zest evenly on top.
drizzle generously with extra Virgin olive oil. Top with hand torn basil leaves and bake at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes.
Remove from heat and set aside.
Shrimps:
Season shrimps with salt and pepper.
On a large frying pan, heat up olive oil on medium heat.
Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add shrimps and cook for 3 minutes on each side.
Remove shrimps from pan, set aside.
Sauce:
Using the same pan where shrimps where cooked, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and heat up on medium heat.
Add garlic and shallots and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
Add tarragon and lemon juice and stir for one minute.
Add white wine, stir. Then add vegetable stock and stir again. Bring to a quick boil of 2 minutes, add butter and reduce heat to low and slow simmer.
Serve it up!
On each individual plate, spoon a generous portion of mashed potatoes on the top half of the dish.
Next, place a sole fillet on the middle of the plate (half of the fillet resting on top of part of the mashed potatoes). Top fish fillets with 2 or 3 jumbo shrimps. Drizzle sauce on top of fish and shrimps.
Garnish side of dish with a few asparragus spears and serve.
Bon appetit! Enjoy!
(Photo: Carlos Sarmiento)
(Photo: Carlos Sarmiento)
(Photo: Carlos Sarmiento)
About the wine...
Special thanks to Flat Top Hills Wines for providing this aromatic and zesty white wine. 2018 Flat Top Hills Wines - Sauvignon Blanc (California)
(Photo: Carlos Sarmiento)
Tasting notes: This wine shows generous fruit, jasmine and lemon zest on the nose and has flavors of Key Lime pie and mandarin orange; crisp and balanced with a lemon drop finish.
Grapes: 100% Sauvignon Blanc
Food pairing: Quite the food friendly wine, this wine pairs nicely with delicate fish, salads with goat cheese, and green vegetables.
For more information, visit: https://www.flattopwines.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Flat-Top-Tech-Sheet-SB.pdf &
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Decorative wine drip collar by: https://dripstosips.com
(Special discount promo code: CFW15)
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(Photo: Portuguese Gravity)