It’s said that this classic French dish, Sole Meunière is what created Julia Child’s life long passion for French cuisine. She first tried it in November 1948 at the famous restaurant La Couronne in Rouen. It was her very first meal with her husband Paul upon arriving in France. She said about the meal, “the most exciting meal of my life” The rest they say is history.
It is very good and it’s flawless in its simplicity and attention to detail. It uses copious amounts of clarified butter and is finished with brown butter. Add some lemon juice, salt, pepper and fresh parsley and there you have it.
As always, I suggest you prepare the classic dish and taste it before you start to change it around. So, ditch the capers I added if you want it pure.
Looking for some other French classics?
Mastering Coq au Vin: A Bistro Favorite Made Simple
Beef Bourguignon, Classic French Beef Stew with Red Wine
Delicious French Chicken Fricassee: A Simplified Recipe
Salmon Rillettes Recipe -Le Bernardin’s Famous Appetizer
Simple Roasted Chicken Recipe: A French Classic
Perfect Beef Short Ribs: A Comfort Food Recipe
Traditional Bouillabaisse-French Seafood Stew, Step by Step.
And of course, My Favorite Recipes
How to make the same dish Julia Child ate:
Since there are so few ingredients, it’s very important to use the freshest you can find. If you can’t find Dover sole, which can be tough then a good substitute is Pacific Dover sole. It’s not actually sole, not from Dover, obviously, but a flounder. And leave out the capers if you want it to be fully authentic.
Ingredients:
1 lb Sole filets
Flour for dusting the filets
Salt and Black or White Pepper
6 Tbsp Butter, keep 2 Tbsp aside to finish the sauce.
2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Juice of one Lemon
Freshly chopped Parsley
3 Tbsp Capers, optional
Preparation:
Preheat you over to its lowest setting. As you are going to cook the filets in batches, the oven will keep them warm.
Begin by seasoning your flour with salt and pepper. Then season your filets, knocking off any excess flour.
Heat your sauté pan over medium/ high heat add in 1/2 of the butter (2 Tbsp) and 1/2 of EVOO and wait until the butter is sizzling and gently place in half of the filets, without crowding them.
Sauté until golden brown and flip over. Usually it’s about 2-3 minutes per side depending on thickness. Remove from the pan with your fish spatula and on a warm plate and into the oven.
Then same procedure with the rest of the filets. And into the oven.
Add your retained 2 Tbsp of butter to the sauté pan, add your capers if you’re using them, chopped parsley and lemon juice and reduce until the butter browns slightly. Pour this sauce over your warm filets and serve immediately.
Classic French Sole Recipe: A Culinary Journey
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Preheat you over to its lowest setting. As you are going to cook the filets in batches, the oven will keep them warm.
- Begin by seasoning your flour with salt and pepper. Then season your filets, knocking off any excess flour.
- Heat your sauté pan over medium/ high heat add in 1/2 of the butter (2 Tbsp) and 1/2 of EVOO and wait until the butter is sizzling and gently place in half of the filets, without crowding them.
- Sauté until golden brown and flip over. Usually it’s about 2-3 minutes per side depending on thickness. Remove from the pan with your fish spatula and on a warm plate and into the oven.
- Just add your retained 2 tablespoons of butter and lemon juice, capers if you're using them, back into the pan and reduce until the butter browns slightly. Then pour the sauce over the filets and sprinkle the fresh parsley on the top.