Cooking a whole Dover sole like they do at Petit Trois is no easy task (and can turn into an expensive mistake). We modified the recipe using fillets instead; equally delicious—and no tears.
Recipe information
Yield
4 servings
Ingredients
Pilaf:
Sauce and assembly:
Preparation
Pilaf:
Step 1
Preheat oven to 375°F. Heat oil in a medium ovenproof saucepan over medium. Add onion, season with kosher salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent and softened, 5–8 minutes. Add rice and stir to coat; cook, stirring occasionally, until rice is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add bay leaf and 3 cups water; season with kosher salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer. Cover and bake in oven until rice is tender and water is absorbed, 15–20 minutes.
Step 2
Remove rice from oven and let sit 5 minutes, then gently fluff with a fork. Top with butter; let it melt into rice, then sprinkle with fleur de sel.
Sauce and assembly:
Step 3
Cook 1 cup unsalted butter in a small saucepan over medium, stirring often, until butter foams, then browns, 5–8 minutes. Remove from heat and slowly add cream (it will foam up slightly). Return to medium heat and cook, stirring often, until cream browns (mixture will go from pale beige to a deep caramel color), 5–8 minutes. At this point, sauce will look broken and grainy, but it will come back together. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice and 1/2 cup water. Cut 2 tablespoons unsalted butter into small pieces. Whisking constantly, add butter a piece at a time, incorporating completely before adding the next piece, until sauce is glossy; season with salt and pepper. Keep sauce warm while you cook the fish.
Step 4
Place flour in a shallow baking dish. Season sole with salt and pepper, then dredge both sides of fillets in flour, shaking off excess.
Step 5
Heat clarified butter in a large skillet over medium-high until smoking. Carefully add fillets and cook until underside is golden brown, about 2 minutes. Gently turn fillets and cook until golden brown on the other side, about 1 minute. Add remaining 2 tablespoons unsalted butter and cook a minute or so until brown. Remove skillet from heat and, using a large spoon, baste fish with butter for a minute or two to finish cooking.
Step 6
Transfer sole to a platter. Spoon lemon cream sauce over; top with parsley. Serve with rice pilaf and lemon halves alongside.
