Sole Meuniere

The gorgeous tashas Inspired is the second cookbook by restaurateur Natasha Sideris, founder of the popular tashas boutique cafés. We bring you four recipes from her inspired take on café culture, to get you thinking like a restaurateur, with table settings and music for every menu!

SERVES 4

In a smart Parisian bistro, your fish will be boned and plated tableside. Your waiter’s collared shirt will be clean and freshly pressed, the table linen starched and the wine chilled to perfection. Julia Child, the great American cook who popularised French cuisine in America in the ‘50s, described her first meunière as “the most exciting meal of my life”. It’s not hard to see why, because the humble sole is one of the most delicate and polite of all sea fishes. Even the bones behave themselves and will come away clean and neatly attached to the spine, all in one.

SOLES

• 4 soles, cleaned & skinned

• flour, for dusting fish, seasoned with salt & black pepper

• olive oil, for frying

LEMON BUTTER SAUCE

• 60g flaked almonds

• 8 tbsp lemon juice

• 24 caper berries

• 200g butter

• handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped

TO SERVE

• boiled potatoes

• green salad

• lemon wedges

SOLE: Dry the sole fillets and dust with the seasoned flour. Heat the olive oil on high in a large frying pan. Cook the sole for 2–3 minutes on each side and finish off in the oven if the sole is particularly thick, to ensure it is cooked through.

LEMON BUTTER SAUCE: Toast the flaked almonds over medium-high heat in a dry frying pan. The slivers burn easily, so keep an eye on them and give them a good shake for an even colour. Heat a saucepan on high. Add the lemon juice, stir in the caper berries and toasted almonds, reduce the heat and add the butter and chopped parsley. Plate the sole and dress with the lemon butter sauce. Serve with boiled potatoes, a green salad and lemon wedges.

STAND A CHANCE TO WIN

We have a copy to give away of tashas Inspired, courtesy of Quivertree publishers. To stand a chance to win, send an email to info@silverdigest.co.za with 'tashas Inspired' in the subject line.