Fish with lemon and brown butter sauce

I use lemon sole for my poisson meunière, but why not try Pacific halibut or even trout? The lemon and brown butter sauce makes a delicious accompaniment to the delicate fish flavours.

• serves

  2

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  10 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 2 fillets of lemon sole (about 150 g each), skin removed
• 3 tbsp plain flour
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 pinches freshly ground black pepper
• 1½ tbsp sunflower oil
• 45 g butter, cut into cubes
• ½ lemon, juice only
• 1 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tbsp small capers (optional)

Instructions

Check the fish for small bones and use tweezers to pull out any that you find.

Mix the flour with the salt and pepper and spread out over a large plate. Pat the fish fillets in the flour so they are evenly coated, and shake off any excess.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a high heat. When the oil is smoking hot, place the fish fillets in the pan and lower the heat to medium. Cook for 1-2 minutes on one side until golden-brown, then turn the fillets over and cook for a further 1–2 minutes until the second side is golden-brown. (Flatfish fillets need only 1–2 minutes cooking on each side. If you’re cooking thicker slices or fillets from a fish like trout (2–3 cm/1 in thick), then 3–4 minutes on each side should be fine.)

When cooked remove the fish from the pan and wrap the fish in aluminium foil to keep warm.

Wipe the pan with paper towels and return to a medium heat. Add the cubes of butter and heat until they melt and become light brown, then turn off the heat and add the lemon juice (stand back a little as it will splutter).

Add the parsley and capers (if using), and swirl the contents of the pan around. Return the fish to the pan, spoon over the juices and serve immediately.

Recipes from Little Paris Kitchen by Rachel Khoo (Michael Joseph, 2012). Text © 2012 by Rachel Khoo. Photography by David Loftus.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.