Sole Florentine with Lemon Pepper Pilaf and Lemon-Dill Sauce

On a whim, I had purchased sole from the grocery store. It was on sale, so I figured what the hell? Having never prepared sole before, I did a fair amount of handling it before making up my mind.

Here's what I discovered: Sole is a very firm fish. I use tilapia so much that I've become accustomed to fish falling apart on me. These filets didn't do that, however, so I though I'd use this to my advantage. I still had a bunch of spinach left from my farmers market trip, so I decided it belonged rolled in my new (to me) fish.

When I originally prepared this meal, I used double the ingredients I have listed below. My plan was to have leftovers to take to work. Unfortunately (for me), the offspring had other plans. There were no leftovers!

Sole Florentine

Ingredients:

3 tbs olive oil

juice of 1 lemon (about 4 tsp)

1 tsp lemon zest

1 tsp salt

1 tsp fresh cracked pepper

1 lb sole filets

1/4 yellow onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 1/2 c fresh spinach, chopped

1/2 red pepper, chopped

3 tbs fresh dill, chopped

Directions:

Whisk together 1 tbs of the oil, lemon juice, zest, 1/2 tsp of the salt, and 1/2 tsp of the pepper. Pour over sole filets and marinate 30 minutes at room temperature.

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a medium skillet, heat remaining 2 tbs olive oil over medium heat. Add onion; cook and stir until onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook an additional minute. Stir in spinach, red pepper, and dill. Cook and stir 2 minute; allow to cool. Evenly spoon spinach mixture onto each filet at the tapered end (if there is one). Roll fish around spinach mixture and place seam side down in greased glass baking pan. Sprinkle rolled fillets with remaining salt and pepper.

Bake in preheateed oven about 20 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Serve with lemon dill sauce spooned over top (recipe below). Makes 4 servings.

Lemon Dill Sauce

Ingredients:

3/4 c dry white wine

1 shallot, finely chopped

juice of 2 lemons (about 2 tbs)

1/2 c unsalted butter

1 1/2 tbs fresh dill, finely chopped

2 tbs heavy cream

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Combine wine, shallot, and lemon juice in a medium saucepan over high heat. Bring to boil, and allow to boil until reduced to 1/4 cup, about 7 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Whisk in butter, 1 tbs at a time, making sure each tbs is melted before adding the next. Drizzle cream in slowly while whisking until all is combined. Remove pan from heat and stir in dill. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Makes about 3/4 c of sauce.

Lemon Pepper Rice Pilaf

Ingredients:

1 tbs unsalted butter

1/2 medium yellow onion, finely chipped

3/4 c long grain rice

1/4 c dry white wine

3/4 c water

1/2 c lemon juice (because this dish is cooked quite a bit, I cheated and used bottled)

1 tsp lemon zest

2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

salt to taste

2 tbs fresh parsley, chopped

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F.

In a medium oven-proof skillet (I used my cast-iron pan), melt butter over medium-low heat. Add onion and cook for 5 minutes or until the onions are translucent. Add rice and stir to coat evenly with butter. Cook 3-5 minutes.

Add wine, water, lemon juice, zest, and pepper; increase heat to high and bring to boil. As soon as the water starts to boil, cover pan. Place in the oven and bake 18 minutes.

Remove rice from oven, sprinkle with salt and parsley, and fluff with fork. Makes 4 servings.