Tender, sweet Grey Sole is lightly breaded and served with braised ornamental cabbage and topped with a zesty herbed lemon cream sauce. I love seafood this time of the year as it gives a break from all of the heavy winter meals, and the fish tastes a bit sweeter coming from the cold Atlantic waters this time of the year. This is paired with braised ornamental cabbage which is 1) quite edible and delicious contrary to common folklore (it’s a vegetable!!) and 2) cooking in season – my ornamental cabbage and kale will thrive through most of the winter in my garden!
The Recipe!
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1-2 sole fillets per person
1 fresh lemon
1 heaping tablespoon of fresh minced tarragon, or 1 teaspoon of tried tarragon
Butter
Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper
1/2 cup of heavy cream
1/2 cup of sour cream
1 1/2 cups of cornmeal
1 teaspoon of brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 lb of ornamental cabbage
Extra-virgin olive oil
La Methode;
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Wash cabbage well and blanch in a large pot of boiling water with a tablespoon of sea salt for about 7 minutes. Remove from pot and blot them dry with paper towels.
Heat a large saucepan with 3 tablespoons of butter and three of extra-virgin olive oil over a low to medium fire. Once shimmering, add cabbage and several pinches of salt and fresh cracked pepper. Turning leaves on occasion, cook for about 7 minutes or until tender. The leaves will be tender and the stem slightly crisp. Remove and place in a warm oven while you prepare the fish.
For the sauce, combine heavy cream, sour cream, tarragon, zest of a lemon (reserve a bit of zest for garnish), brown sugar, a pinch of salt and pepper and juice from the lemon in a sauce pot and heat over a low fire, stirring occasionally. Adjust the flavours if necessary. Add a tablespoon of butter and stir well until melted just before serving.
Combine 1 cup of sour cream and two eggs in a bowl and blend well with a whisk, adding a large pinch of salt and pepper.
Dredge filets in this “batter” and then dredge in the cornmeal that has been mixed with a teaspoon of salt and a tablespoon of pepper. Fry in a large skillet over a medium fire with 2 tablespoons of butter, 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil, adding more butter and oil as necessary until all the fillets are cooked. Turn the fillets after 3 minutes and cook an additional 3-4 minutes, or until fish flakes. Garnish with fresh herbs and capers. Simple and delightful winter fare!
