Sometimes, with a few small tricks, you can make even an ingredient that is usually not very tasty become flavorful and inviting.
This is the case for today’s recipe, which will make a fish often associated with dieting or hospital food appealing: pan-fried sole with vegetables.
A simple preparation that remains suitable for those on a diet, because sole is a lean fish with very few calories, but not for that reason lacking in taste.
With this pan-fried sole with vegetables recipe, using just a few simple ingredients, you’ll enhance the delicate white flesh of the fish, adding aroma and color because presentation matters too.
Today I focus on speed and convenience, so no oven—just a skillet: this way you’ll serve a light and tasty fish main course quickly, vegetables included.
Yes, because in this recipe the sole finishes cooking in the skillet together with a mix of vegetables that flavor the fish and are, in turn, flavored by the fish juices, preserving their tenderness and enhancing the taste.
Perfect for any occasion, pan-fried sole with vegetables is a simple and appetizing dish that will please both adults and children.
I also recommend the classic sole meunière or the sole rolls with speck.
But let’s get back to our pan-fried sole with vegetables and see how to prepare it.
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Inexpensive
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Cooking time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cuisine: Italian
- Energy 321.57 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 21.81 (g) of which sugars 6.01 (g)
- Proteins 28.99 (g)
- Fat 11.52 (g) of which saturated 2.73 (g)of which unsaturated 2.73 (g)
- Fibers 4.56 (g)
- Sodium 629.36 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 200 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 4 sole fillets (fresh or frozen fillets of fish)
- 2 carrots (medium)
- 1 white onion
- 2 potatoes (medium)
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- to taste salt
- 1 pinch black pepper (ground)
- 1/2 glass dry white wine
- flour (for dusting the fish fillets)
Tools
- Skillet(s)
- 1 Pot
NOTE
If you use fresh sole, I recommend having it cleaned by the fishmonger; otherwise, proceed to skin it yourself: make an incision in the skin on the darker side just above the tail, then pull the skin toward the head.
Do the same on the other side. Gut the fish and separate the flesh to obtain the fillets.
Rinse them under water and pat dry with paper towels.
If you use frozen sole fillets, simply let them thaw.
Wash the carrots and potatoes, peel them and cut into very small dice.
Peel the onion and chop it finely.
Blanch the frozen peas for 5 minutes.
In a large nonstick skillet, put the onion with 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil and sauté for one minute.
Add the diced potatoes and carrots, a ladle of water or vegetable broth and continue cooking over medium heat for about 15 more minutes, stirring occasionally: the vegetables should soften but not fall apart.
Also add the peas, adjust salt and pepper, stir and finish cooking for another 5 minutes.
Take the sole fillets and lightly dust them with flour.
Cook them in a nonstick skillet where you have heated a pat of butter (about 1 tbsp) and 1 tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil (2 minutes per side should be enough).
Deglaze with the white wine, let it evaporate and continue cooking for a total of about 5 minutes, turning the fillets once very gently with a spatula. Adjust salt.
Transfer the fillets into the skillet with the vegetables, add one tablespoon of water and finish cooking for another minute.
Plate and serve sprinkled with chopped fresh parsley.
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STORAGE
Once cooked, pan-fried sole with vegetables keeps in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to one day.
TIPS
You can use fresh thyme or sage to flavor this dish.
Other seasonal vegetables work well too, such as broccoli, spinach, cauliflower, zucchini.
With the same method you can prepare other types of fish like gilthead sea bream or sea bass; obviously cooking times change depending on the size and weight of the fillets.
