Classic Sole Meunière

It was “perfectly browned in a sputtering butter sauce with a sprinkling of chopped parsley… I closed my eyes and inhaled the rising perfume. Then I lifted a forkful of fish to my mouth… The flesh of the sole was delicate, with a light but distinct taste of the ocean that blended marvelously with the browned butter… It was a morsel of perfection… It was the most exciting meal of my life.” - from Julia Child's My Life in France

The sole meunière, in my humble opinion, is about as "classic" as it gets when it comes to French food. This delightful dish has its roots in the wonderful region of Normandy, a land dotted with apple orchards, hedgerows and a rocky and dramatic coastline.  Enjoy!

Classic Sole Meunière:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup all purpose flour
4 sole fillets (each Dover Sole, about 3 to 4 ounces)
Coarse kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper6 tablespoons salted butter

Sauce:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Lemon wedges

Directions:

Place flour in pie dish. Remove the black skin from the soles. Rinse fish; pat with paper towels. Sprinkle both sides of fish with coarse salt and freshly ground pepper. Dredge fish on both sides with flour; shake off excess. Place on platter.

Melt butter in large skillet over medium-high heat add fish and cook until golden on bottom, 2 to 3 minutes.

Carefully turn fish over and cook until opaque in center and golden on bottom, 2 to 3 minutes. Divide fish between 2 warmed plates; tent with foil. Pour off drippings from skillet; wipe with paper towels. 

Sauce: Place skillet over medium-high heat. Add butter; cook until golden, 1 to 2minutes. Remove from heat; stir in parsley and lemon juice (sauce may sputter). Spoon sauce over fish. Serve with lemon wedges.

Serving suggestions: I'm a traditionalist and would expect to see boiled parsleyed potatoes and a Boston lettuce and tomato salad in a vinaigrette Dijon mustard dressing. A nice cheese plate would be welcomed and perhaps une Tarte aux Pommes - Apple Tart straight from the apple orchards of Normandy and, as always, appropriately laced with a little Calvados. 

Now about those wines...

You can enjoy this dish with almost any white wine so if your wine collection looks a little meek and you have a few orphan white wines they will do just fine. I suppose you could also go to Trader Joe's in an emergency. All that aside, here are a couple wines that pair beautifully with the Sole Meunière. Personally, I would make an immediate dash to the Val de Loire and once there, find myself torn between picking a Muscadet and or a young  Sancerre and in the end opting for a Sancerre so as not to detract from my Sole Meunière. But that's just moi.

2010 Willm Riesling Reserve, Alsace

2006 Thierry Matrot Meursault, Burgundy

2009 Domaine des Noelles Muscadet, Val de Loire

2010 Domaine Vincent Delaporte Sancerre, Val de Loire

2011 Vergelegen Sauvignon Blanc, Stellenbosch, South Africa

2009 Salentein Chardonnay Reserves, Mendoza, Argentina

2009 Philo Ridge Chardonnay, Mendocino County, California's North Coast