Recipe: Lemon Sole Fillets in Marsala Sauce

An excellent recipe! Lemon sole is a fish not famous for its flavour - particularly once the head and bones have been removed - and as a result finds itself at the cheaper end of the fishmonger's counter. With this particular treatment, however, the flavour and texture are dramatically improved, and the rich and unctuous sauce that accompanies the fillets would make you believe the whole thing had been cooked on the bone, and the end result is completely delicious!

Simplicity itself to cook, this dish takes five minutes from a standing start, and can easily be made with no prior preparation once the first course has already been cleared.

For two.

Ingredients: 2 Lemon Sole fillets; quarter cup of plain Flour, seasoned with Salt & Pepper; 40g Butter; 3 tbs freshly grated Parmesan; quarter cup of Fish Stock; quarter cup of Marsala (or medium Sherry).

Method:

1. Coat the fillets on both sides with the seasoned Flour.

2. Melt the Butter over medium/high heat in a large heavy frying pan, and fry the fillets a couple of minutes on each side, until they are slightly browned and crisp.

3. Sprinkle 1 tbs of Parmesan on each fillet. Then add the Fish Stock and Marsala (or Sherry) to the pan. Cover the whole thing with a lid, reduce the heat to low and let it cook for two or three minutes. When the lid is removed, the liquid should have reduced almost to nothing.

4. Plate the fillets on heated plates, sprinkle over them the remaining Parmesan, and spoon the sauce over and around them from the pan.

5. Serve with a green vegetable, like mange-touts or beans.