Sole Meuniere recipe is an absolute classic but did you know you don’t have to be a classically trained chef to master it? It’s incredibly simple and quick. Let me show you how!
Serve this tender fish with our Herb and Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Lemon Garlic Green Beans.
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Some recipes have an incredible draw and allure due to their classic status. Sole Meuniere is definitely one of them! It’s one of the recipes you will usually spot in a French restaurant with a hefty price tag attached.
Those things make us think the dish is complicated and difficult to me. All of that could not be further from the truth!
One of the reasons the famous dish is expensive is due to the price of the fish itself. The cooking method is easier than easy! Making it at home will allow you to enjoy the delicious French classic without the expense associated with it.
Plus you you can add another easy fish recipe to your recipe box. Speaking of which, have you explored our Fish and Seafood Recipe Collection? So many ideas to choose from!
What exactly is Sole Meuniere?
Despite its refined sounding name, at least to an English speaker, the dish itself has the humblest of roots. ‘Meuniere’ means “miller’s wife” in French, which refers to the use of flour and makes this fish recipe staple fare of an unpretentious labourer.
The dish itself consists of a sole fillet, or a whole fish like in this case, being dredged in flour flavoured with salt and pepper and then fried in butter to achieve a crispy coating.
Sole is a fish that is worth getting familiar with. It’s a saltwater fish that is found in shallower parts of the northeastern Atlantic and in the Mediterranean.
The flesh is firm and very tasty and, like many fish, is a great source of lean protein. Depending on where you live, it may cost a little extra, although Lemon Sole tends to be cheaper than Dover Sole.
Lemon Butter Sauce
After the fish is fried on both sides, remove it to a separate plate to prevent overcooking. It’s then time to add a lot more butter and let it bubble to make brown butter. This adds another layer of flavour! As soon as it happens, we pour in fresh lemon juice directly to the pan to create a delicious lemon butter sauce.
In the end we throw in some capers and serve with freshly chopped parsley. A simple dish that is far from plain! The lemon butter, which is rich, tangy and salty, is the perfect accompaniment to the mild tasting, white fleshed sole.
Lemon butter sauce is so delicious! It shouldn’t be reserved for sole alone. You can use the same method but use chicken cutlets instead like this Chicken Paillard Recipe.
Recipe Tips and Notes
- Choose sole fillet is possible. However if your fish is very small and difficult to fillet, the whole fish is absolutely fine, which is what I used in this recipe.
- You can use either Lemon Sole or Dover Sole, the first one is cheaper and more accessible.
- Don’t forget to season the flour, the fish is dredged in, with salt and pepper!
- Fry in butter for extra flavour until the skin is crisp. Remove from the pan to avoid overcooking, which happens quickly with delicate fish like sole. Keep warm.
- Add more butter and let it melt and bubble until it start to brown a bit, then quickly add freshly squeezed lemon juice. Do not use bottled lemon juice as it will result in inferior flavour! I also like to add a few lemon slices together with the juice.
- Finally bring in capers to the sauce, warm through and take it off the heat. Bring the fish back to the pan and spoon the lemon butter sauce all over. Serve with fresh parsley.
Serving suggestions
This dish screams out for potatoes as a side dish. It’s hard to go wrong with your potato choice, whether roasted, air fried, or mashed. But my preference is to stick to something as rustic as the original recipe, like my Oven Fried Potatoes with Mushrooms and Onions!
Storage and leftovers
The flaky texture of fish is a vital part of what makes it so enjoyable to eat, but this gets lost when it is cooled and stored as leftovers. So my advice is to eat this fish fresh and hot.
I’ve never found this to be a problem though. The good news is that each fillet works perfectly as an individual portion, meaning you can easily control how much you make and, hopefully, avoid having fish to spare.
More Delicious Fish Recipes
- Tuscan Salmon with Parmesan Cream Sauce
- Baked Bacon Wrapped Fish with Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto
- Baked Cod with Mustard Sauce
- Asian Salmon with Carrot Cucumber Slaw
Sole in Lemon Butter Sauce (Sole Meuniere)
Ingredients
- 2X130g/4oz-5oz lemon sole fillet or whole fish
- 4 tbsp plain flour
- 1 tsp salt and pepper each
- 4-5 tbsp butter I used unsalted
- 1 lemon
- 2 tbsp capers
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- In a large plate of a bowl combine the flour, salt and pepper. Dredge the fish in the flour mixture, then shake off the excess flour.
- Preheat a frying pan and melt 2 tbsp of butter in it. Fry the sole in butter on medium heat for approximately 2 minutes on each side. Then remove from the pan and keep warm.
- To the same pan add the remaining butter and let it melt and watch it turn slightly brown, then add the juice of half a lemon and slices of the other half, cook for a few seconds, then add the capers and return the fish back to the pan. Spoon the sauce all over the fish and take off the heat. Serve sprinkled with fresh parsley.
