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Lemon sole with potted shrimp butter

By: Rick Stein and Jack Stein

Published: 11 Dec 20
Updated: 18 Mar 24

Rick Stein’s sophisticated fish supper brings the restaurant experience home. Try it at your next dinner party, serve as an alternative to the Christmas roast, or cook it for a Valentine’s double date.

Rick says: “Serving a whole fish is celebratory and makes the perfect main course when you want to serve a special dish. Whole fish stays softer than fillets because the bones protect the meat, and lemon sole is one of the best you can choose as it’s so easy to cook and take off the bone. Serving sole with brown shrimp is classic, but we’ve given the recipe a slight twist by using potted shrimps. These have a lovely Christmassy spicing with nutmeg, and the added capers are a wonderful counterpoint to the shrimp butter.”

Easy
December 2020

Test kitchen approved

Serves 4
Hands-on time 15 min, grilling time 7-8 min

Nutrition: per serving

Calories: 491kcals
Fat: 15.3g (5.3g saturated)
Protein: 87.9g
Carbohydrates: 0.2g (0.1g sugars)
Fibre: 0.4g
Salt: 1.9g

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Ingredients

4 x 500g whole sustainable lemon soles (see tip)
Olive oil for drizzling
2 x 50g pots potted shrimps (from Waitrose and fishmongers)
1 tbsp surfine capers (see Know-how)
Handful fresh flatleaf parsley, chopped
Sautéed potatoes, dark leafy greens and lemon wedges to serve

You’ll also need

Large baking tray lined with foil

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Method

Heat the grill to hot. Season each sole with salt and a drizzle of olive oil, then put on the prepared baking tray. Grill for 5-6 minutes, turning once, until almost cooked through.
Spoon the potted shrimps with their butter evenly over the fish and allow the butter to melt.
Return the fish to the grill for 2 minutes more until the flesh comes off the bone easily, remove from the grill and rest for 3 minutes.

Transfer each fish to a warm plate, spoon over any shrimps and cooking juices from the foil, then scatter with the capers and parsley. Serve with sautéed potatoes, seasonal leafy greens and wedges of lemon.

Recipe from December 2020 Issue

Nutrition

Nutrition: per serving

Calories: 491kcals
Fat: 15.3g (5.3g saturated)
Protein: 87.9g
Carbohydrates: 0.2g (0.1g sugars)
Fibre: 0.4g
Salt: 1.9g

delicious. tips

Our fishmonger removed the heads and tails and trimmed the lemon soles for us, but ask to leave the heads on if you wish.
Capers are graded by size: surfines are smaller and more flavourful than capucines, capotes, fines and grusas. Look out for Opies and Epicure in larger supermarkets and delis.