Julia Child's Fillets of Sole Meuniere
This was the first meal Julia enjoyed in France and it sparked a 40-year love affair with food.
Prep Time10 minutes mins
Cook Time15 minutes mins
Total Time25 minutes mins
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: French
Keyword: Dinner, fish, seafood, Sole
Servings: 4 Servings
Calories: 346kcal
- 6 skinless and boneless sole or other thin fish fillets 4-6 oz. each and 3/8 inch thick
- Salt and freshly ground white pepper
- 1/2 cup or so of flour on a plate
- 6 Tbsp. clarified unsalted butter
- 3 Tbsp. minced fresh parsley
- 1 lemon cut into wedges
Preheat oven to 200F. Make the clarified butter by melting about 7 1/2 Tbsp. In a small saucepan and pouring off the clear yellow liquid or as we did skim the top white milky liquid.
Then continue to boil until most of the milky liquid has evaporated but you need to watch that the butter doesn’t burn.
Dry each fillet and place on waxed paper. Score the fillets and trim if needed. Scoring stops the fish from curling. Dust the fillets on each side with salt and pepper.
Move the fillets close to your saute pan along with the plate of flour. Place about 2 1/2 Tbsp. of the clarified butter into your frypan and heat on high.
When the butter is very hot but not browning rapidly lay the fish in the flour and then shake off excess. Saute the fillet in the butter leaving plenty of room between each piece. Do this in two batches. Let the fish cook a minute or two on the one side and carefully with your spatula turn over.
Cook another two minutes. The fish is done when it is springy rather than squashy to the touch. Immediately remove from pan to a warm plate and place in the oven. Repeat with the other fillets adding another Tbsp. of butter to the pan. Keep the last 1 1/2 Tbsp. butter warming.
To serve, sprinkle each fillet with parsley and drizzle on the warm butter. Serve with lemon wedges and rice or potatoes.
Serving: 1 | Calories: 346kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 101mg | Sodium: 311mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g