Sole

The elegant French classic with butter, lemon, capers, and herbs.

Steamed fish with potatoes get drenched in a flavorful brown butter infused with anchovies and chives for a bistro-like meal that comes together in no time.

Barely cracked peppercorns toasted in generous amounts of brown butter make one of the easiest, tastiest finishers for simply seared fish.

Hit all the notes of a fully loaded bagel—complete with tangy yogurt taking the place of cream cheese—with this crispy fish cutlet.

Don’t let fish intimidate you on the grill. Cutting it into wide planks makes it easy to flip.

Simply grilled fish in a foil packet. (Don’t worry if you can’t find turbot. You can use other flatfish such as Dover sole or flounder instead.)

Think of the cucumber as a crunchy and spicy relish that somehow makes fried fish even better. 

Cooking a whole Dover sole like they do at Petit Trois is no easy task (and can turn into an expensive mistake). We modified their sole meunière recipe using fillets instead; equally delicious—and no tears.

“This dish was on our opening menu and still makes an appearance whenever we can get fresh skate wings,” says chef Adam Evans. His method also works with skinless turbot, flounder, or sole fillets.

In this classic sole Meunière recipe, lightly fried fish proves simplicity is best.

Delicately flavored sole is a dieter's BFF, with only 73 calories per 3-ounce fillet.

As à la meunière means “in the manner of the miller’s wife” in French, it’s no surprise that this preparation often calls for the fish to be coated with flour before being sautéed, to promote browning.

Try this technique with any mild, flaky white fish, including sole, tilapia, or turbot, all of which work nicely with the sauce. Brown butter—or buerre noisette, created when butter is cooked until the milk solids turn golden brown—is one of those à la minute (cooked to order) sauces that should be a part of any home cook’s repertoire, since it can be altered in countless ways. Nuts are classically paired with browned butter, as their flavors are complementary; citrus juice or wine balances the richness; and other ingredients, such as herbs, provide complexity. Since this recipe is so quick to prepare, you need to have your mise en place at the ready before you heat the pan. Toast and chop the hazelnuts, suprême the citrus, and put salt, pepper, and flour in separate dishes (for seasoning and dredging the fish) set near the stove.

Because this fish stock freezes well, you can double the recipe; use one batch, and freeze the second one for later use.

Steaming is a wonderful way to cook fish. It preserves the natural pristine flavor of the fish and the delicate texture of the flesh, especially of flaky white-fleshed fish such as haddock, halibut, sole, and salmon. Season the fish and cook in a steamer over simmering water in a closed pot. Aromatics—herbs, spices, and vegetables—can be added to the water for more flavor. Cook the fish until the flesh is set and no longer translucent in the center—except salmon, which is best if its center is still translucent. Steaming has the added benefit of retaining all the internal moisture of the fish, but don’t overcook the fish or it will dry out. Like baked fish, fish to be steamed can be wrapped in aromatic leaves or branches. Steamed fish goes particularly well with sauces such as Salsa Verde (page 45) and Pesto (page 230) and any butter sauce. Steamed sole is ethereally light and beurre blanc (butter sauce) adds acid and richness. Other tasty sauces to consider are Salsa Verde (page 45) or an herb butter (see page 48) or, for a very pure meal, a simple drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and a squeeze of lemon.