Simple Sole with Three Sauces
We think of sole as a great blank canvas, a mild but flavorful vehicle for sauces and other accompaniments. Here, we’re suggesting three terrific sauces and two methods of cooking. Choose the sauce you want to make on any given night: The red pepper sauce is savory and rich; the tartar sauce uses fat-free Greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise for a lighter but still luscious result; and the yuzu sauce adds Asian soy-citrus notes to the fish. And choose between the two ways to cook sole or other white fish like lemon sole or flounder: Pan-searing is great, but if you’re cooking for a crowd, you may want to broil the fish, as you can cook more pieces at the same time.
SERVES 4
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter or additional olive oil
1 garlic clove, pressed or thinly sliced (optional)
4 (6-to-8-ounce) pieces fillet of sole, skinned
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 lemons, halved
Sauce of choice (recipes follow)
For pan-searing: Heat a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil, butter, and garlic, if using, and heat until the butter is melted and the oil is hot. Season the fish with the salt and pepper. Add the fish and cook for 2 minutes. Turn and cook until the fish is opaque and browned on the edges, about 2 minutes more. Squeeze the lemon over the fish while it’s still warm.
For broiling: Preheat the broiler and line the broiler pan with foil. Transfer the fish to the pan, brush both sides with 2 tablespoons oil and season with salt and pepper. Top with the garlic, if using, and squeeze the lemon over the fish. Broil until the fish is opaque and browned on top, about 2 to 4 minutes.
Transfer the fish to plates and serve with sauce of your choice.
Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
This sauce is also great under grilled eggplant or zucchini slices, topped with crumbled feta cheese, and served at room temperature.
MAKES ABOUT 1½ CUPS
Olive oil, for oiling the baking sheet
½ pound plum tomatoes, quartered lengthwise
1 large red bell pepper (about 12 ounces), quartered and seeded
4 medium garlic cloves, unpeeled
8 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Preheat the oven to 450°F. Lightly oil a large baking sheet with olive oil.
Arrange the tomatoes, pepper, and garlic on the baking sheet and drizzle with 6 tablespoons of the oil. Season with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Roast until the vegetables are soft and brown around the edges, 45 to 50 minutes.
Squeeze the garlic pulp from the skin into a food processor. Add the tomatoes and pepper and process until smooth.
Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add the puréed vegetable mixture, thyme, and vinegar and cook, stirring until the sauce has heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. Adjust the seasoning and serve.
Tartar Sauce
This can be made 3 to 4 days ahead of time and stored in the fridge. You can substitute mayonnaise for some of the yogurt for a richer sauce.
MAKES 1 CUP
2 medium shallots, diced (about 2 tablespoons)
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ cup capers, chopped
1 cup 0% Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon dried tarragon, crushed
½ cup chopped cornichons
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Tabasco sauce, to taste
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients and whisk until well blended.
Yuzu Sauce
Yuzu, a very aromatic yellow citrus fruit that grows wild in China and Tibet, has made solid inroads into American cooking. Its flavor is tart and similar to that of grapefruit mixed with mandarin orange. Not eaten as a fruit by itself, its juice is used mostly as a seasoning.
MAKES 2 CUPS
1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
2 medium shallots, chopped (about 2 tablespoons)
1 cup soy sauce
1 cup orange juice
½ cup yuzu juice or sauce (available at Japanese markets) or lime juice
¼ cup honey
¼ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients and whisk until well blended.
Red Snapper Layered with Tomatoes and Pickled Jalapeños
This special dish—perfect for a festive lunch or dinner—is based on a recipe we learned in a Jewish-Mexican cooking class taught by chef and restaurateur Roberto Santibañez. It takes a while to assemble, but is well worth the effort. You can, however, put it all together a day in advance, refrigerate it, then pop it into the oven before serving. Just leave out the step of marinating the fish in lime juice and squeeze the juice over the top right before baking.
The recipe calls for pickled jalapeños, which are a tasty surprise—briny with just a small kick (if you remove the seeds and membranes). Pickle lovers will particularly enjoy them. They can also be served with sliced cheese alongside salsa and chips.
SERVES 4 TO 6
4 (8-ounce) red snapper fillets, skinned
2 limes, halved
Kosher salt
4 large ripe tomatoes (about 2 pounds)
1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
6 bay leaves
½ cup chopped cilantro
12 fresh thyme sprigs
3 Pickled Jalapeños (recipe follows), chopped and seeded
12 garlic cloves, peeled
½ cup small Spanish or green olives
1 tablespoon nonpareil capers (optional)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Place the snapper fillets in a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Squeeze the juice from one of the limes over them and season with salt. Turn the fillets once or twice in the seasonings and marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes, or cover and refrigerate for up to 4 hours.
Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Fill a large bowl with ice and add water. Core the tomatoes and cut a shallow X in the intact end. Slip the tomatoes into the boiling water and leave until their skins start to peel away, about 10 seconds depending on ripeness. Remove the tomatoes with a slotted spoon and transfer to the ice bath. When cool enough to handle, peel. Cut the tomatoes into ½-inch slices.
Preheat the oven to 425ºF.
Make a layer of half the onion in a separate 9 x 13-inch baking pan. (You can use a different pan size, but make sure the fillets will fit snugly in it with just a small bit of overlap.) Place slightly less than half the tomatoes on top of the onions. Top with the bay leaves, scatter with half of each of the cilantro, thyme, and pickled jalapeños (reserve the remaining for garnish). Season with salt.
Tuck the garlic under the vegetables at the edges of the dish. Squeeze the juice from the remaining lime over the vegetables and top with the fillets, spacing them evenly (they can overlap if necessary). Scatter the olives and the capers, if using, over the fish, then top with the remaining tomatoes and onions. Drizzle with half of the oil. Cover tightly with foil.
Bake the fish for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake until the juices bubble up around the fish and it is cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes more. Sprinkle with the remaining cilantro, thyme, and jalapeños, drizzle with the remaining olive oil, and serve.
Pickled Jalapeños
10 medium jalapeños (about ¾ pound)
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, cut into 2-inch chunks
1 large carrot, peeled and cut into ½-inch rounds
12 garlic cloves, peeled
½ cup cider vinegar
½ cup water, or more as needed
¾ tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
½ lime, cut into ½-inch-thick slices
2 bay leaves
2 fresh thyme sprigs
2 fresh marjoram sprigs
6 allspice berries, coarsely crushed
1½ tablespoons kosher salt
¼ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
With a paring knife, cut 2 vertical slits in the jalapeños on opposite sides, beginning about ½ inch from the stem end and stopping about 1 inch above the tapered end. (NOTE: Jalapeños are among the moderately spiced peppers and the heat resides primarily in the seeds and white membranes. We suggest washing your hands with warm soapy water immediately after handling the peppers.)
In a heavy saucepan, heat the oil over medium-low heat. Add the jalapeños, onion, carrot, and garlic and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are softened but not browned, about 10 minutes. Add the vinegar, water, sugar, mustard, lime, bay leaves, thyme, marjoram, allspice, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until the vegetables are cooked through, about 15 minutes. Taste and add water if the brine seems too sharp; it will mellow as it sits. Let the mixture cool to room temperature.
Pack the vegetables and their liquid into a quart-size glass canning jar. Make sure the vegetables are completely submerged in their liquid and refrigerate.