Stuffed fillet of Sole

In all the years of cooking, I do not remember stuffing fillets. I have always stuffed a whole fish.  I gave it a try this past Friday night and it worked.  Remember, simple ingredients can yield a great result.  I picked up some Sole fillets in Memphis while on my shopping trip.  Look for fresh, thin fillets.  They work best as they hold together raw.  Once cooked, they hold their shape too.

Ingredients:  4 Servings

4 fillets of Sole or any thin, (pliable) Fish fillet (Cod, for example,  will not work, the fillets are to thick).

one teaspoon salt (for the fish)

One teaspoon pepper

One large egg

2 tablespoons olive oil (for the stuffing)

2 tablespoons of butter divided into pats of butter set aside

One cup of bread crumbs (plain)

1/2 cup diced parsley

2 cloves of garlic diced

Additional sprigs of Parsley to garnish

2 tablespoons, good salty capers.  Be sure and give them a quick rinse.  Same rule applies if capers are under Vinegar

1/2 cup pitted black olives

A squeeze of fresh lemon over each fillet.

1/2 cup of white wine

 About 8 Shrimp/ cooked (I blanched them quickly as they will continue to cook in the oven).  4 with tales on, 4 with tales removed

Method:  Place the egg, bread crumbs, garlic,  capers, olives, parsley and olive oil into the food processor.  Give it a pulse or two until the bread crumbs hold together.  Add your white wine a little at a time to your mixture.  You can add more bread crumbs if you like. It will become somewhat pasty.  Add your Shrimp and give it a mix.  You do not want your shrimp ground to fine. It's OK to see some pieces.  You can also dice the shrimp and add it in a bowl with your breadcrumb mixture and set aside.  Set aside your 4 remaining Shrimp.  You will use them to decorate later.

Butter your baking dish with one tablespoon butter.  Lay your fillets flat and with your hands insert about 2 tablespoons of stuffing in the middle of your fillet.  Roll your fillets and turn them over.  You want the seam to be ont he bottom of your fillet.  Place a pat of butter over your fillet or you can brush them with melted butter.  Continue this process and discard any left over stuffing. 

As you can see, I had some extra olives so I added them to the dish.   (The shrimp on top  is for the purpose of this photo. You  can add them later.  They are already in the stuffing).

Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 12-15 minutes.   This cooks up very quickly and you might have to take it out at the 12 minute mark.  Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.   Decorate with your extra shrimp on top and a few sprigs of fresh Parsley.  A little lemon would do nicely too.  Drizzle some extra virgin olive oil on top. Serve with a light Pinot Grigio or Vinho Verde. Buon Appetito.

Special note:  I added my shrimp to my Baking dish at the 12 minute mark.  3 minutes later, they were slightly golden on the tips and firm.  I served fried Asparagus and some Horseradish cream as a side dish.

For the Fried Asparagus:  3 each/ 12 sprigs cleaned and trimmed at the bottom

One egg

One cup of cornmeal

These Asparagus were very thin.  It was not necessary to blanch.  Dip your Asparagus in egg and roll.  Add a pinch of salt.  You want the Asparagus well coated.  Dip in cornmeal.  Repeat egg and Cornmeal a second time.  Fry in Sunflower oil until golden. It just takes a minute or two.  Lay on paper towels until serving time.  

For the horseradish cream: 

 One tablespoon horseradish, one teaspoon hot pepper sauce, 3 tablespoons mayonnaise.   I just had a craving.  I normally would just steam some Asparagus. Enjoy!