Fillet of Black Sole with Parmesan Crust
Black sole (more widely known as Dover Sole) is a wonderful fish. Sole is a flat fish that lives at the bottom of the sea and like all flat fish its skin is too tough to eat. When grilling sole you must remove both skin sides (black and white). Black sole is at its best when its between one to three days old as its difficult to remove the skin if it is too fresh.
When I worked as a teenager in Chez Hans Grilled Black Sole was served to the table on the bone and the waiters would then de-bone the fish at the table. This skill is rarely seen these days unfortunately.
I have photographed the process of skinning and filleting a sole. Have a look at the shots and read the explanation below.
(Photo 1) Cut into the tail and then scrape away the skin until you can get a grip.
(Photo 2) Hold the skin at this point and pull it away from the flesh. It should come away in one piece. Tear off the skin and repeat the same process on the other side.
(Photo 3) Cut off the fins. Clean out the liver under the head and make sure to remove the roe from the sides.
(Photo 4) Using a filleting knife cut along the bone
(Photo 5) Slide knife under flesh and allow the knife to do the work. Repeat for four fillets.
Butter a grilling tray. Season the sole fillets on both sides with seasalt and freshly milled white pepper, brush with melted butter and grill under hot grill until its golden brown. Turn fish and grill other side until golden brown. Remove from the heat and squeeze lemon juice over the fillets and serve.
The following dish requires a little more work though most of the work is in the preparation. Its best served with summer vegetables and/or salad leaves.
Fillet of Black Sole with Parmesan Crust
4 portions (two fillets per portion)
8 fillets of black sole
Sea salt
Fresh Milled White Pepper
1 Lemon
Method
Season fillets and squeeze lemon juice of half a lemon over them. Put one fillet on top of a second one and wrap tightly in cling film. Repeat ending up with four portions (two fillets per portion). Place wrapped portions in a pot of boiling water for 5 minutes. Remove and unwrap. Squeeze rest of juice over fillets and place on a baking tray. Cut parmesan crust (see ingredients and method below) to size of fillet and place on top and grill until crust starts to melt.
Parmesan Crust
500g Butter
850g Fine Bread Crumbs
150g Grated Parmesan Cheese
3 Free-range egg Yolks
3 Lemons Zested and Finely chopped
½ Lemon Juice
Method
Cream the butter.
Add in the breadcrumbs.
Add in the Parmesan and chopped lemon zest.
Add in the yolks and then finally the lemon juice and mix well.
Roll it out thinly between two pieces of greaseproof paper and place in a freezer to set overnight.
Black Sole ©Kevin Thornton
Black sole with parmesan Crust ©Kevin Thornton
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