Sauteed Petrale Sole with Lemon/Butter/Parsley/Capers Sauce and Boiled New Potatoes

Petrale sole is an incredible fish and this simple recipe highlights the sole and complements it with a spicy lemon butter sauce.  Petrale sole is fine-textured and delicately flavored and simple sautéing in olive oil and butter is all it takes.

We usually get our sole from our local fishmonger, JP Seafood, but this last weekend, we visit with our good friend and relative Gary from the northern California coast, who has fresh cut sole for us.  We hurry home and cook some of it the next day.

Petrale sole, sautéed, with boiled new potatoes

The sole is dredged in flour sprinkled with salt and pepper, then cooked in olive oil and two tablespoons of butter in a non-stick skillet.  While the sole is cooking, the ingredients for the sauce are prepared:  lemon juice, finely-chopped parsley, crushed red pepper flakes, and drained capers.

 Sole dredged in flour, ready to cook

The sole is sautéed about five minutes a side, until golden brown, and then transferred to warm plates and covered loosely.  The sauce is made by wiping the skillet clean, melting two tablespoons of butter, then stirring in the lemon, parsley, red pepper flakes and capers, cooking a bit, and then spooning over the fish.

 Sole cooking in olive oil and butter

Sauce of butter, lemon juice, parsley, red pepper flakes, and capers

Sole plated with sauce

To accompany this great fish, we make boiled new potatoes with butter, cooked in garlic and peppercorns.  We cover a pound of whole new potatoes with water, and add a whole garlic cut in half, a bay leaf, black peppercorns, and salt.  The potatoes boil for about ten minutes, then are drained (remove and discard the garlic, bay leaf, and peppercorns), halved, and tossed with butter, salt, and pepper.

 Potatoes cooking, and ready to go

We add some potatoes to our plates and we are ready to dine!

Time to dine, Bon Appetit!