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.

Recipe: Celeriac & Asparagus Terrine

Couldn't be simpler to make, and the flavour and texture of this dish are superb! Excellent as a cold starter, and certainly good enough to present at a dinner party - with the added advantage that it's made entirely in advance.

For 1 terrine, sufficient for eight slices:

Ingredients: 450g Celeriac; 100g Butter; 500 ml Cream; 4 Eggs; Seasoning; 5 Asparagus spears (sprue, ideally, or spears as slender as you can find).

Method:

1. Peel and finely dice the Celeriac, and sauté gently in melted Butter for ten minutes or so, until properly soft. Add Cream and cook for a further minute or so, until the Cream has thickened slightly. Allow to cool.

2. Cook the Asparagus spears in boiling salted water until just done (but still very much on the al dente side).

3. Liquidize the Celeriac/Cream mixture along with the Eggs; season to taste.

4. In a greased (or Trennwaxed) loaf tin or terrine mould, pour a quarter of the Celeriac mixture, then place two of the Asparagus spears on top; add another quarter of the mixture, and a single Asparagus spear; another quarter of mixture and the remaining two Asparagus spears, and finally finish off with the remaining Celeriac mixture.

5. Place the loaf tin or terrine mould in a bain marie and cook for twenty minutes in a 180 degree C oven, then remove from the oven and allow the terrine to cool down.

6. To serve, run a knife round the edge of the terrine and unmould onto a board or platter. Slice carefully with a very sharp knife. and accompany with a salad of endive or fennel.