The Nicest Tray Baked Lemon Sole Food

SUNNY'S EASY BAKED LEMON SOLE AND SPRING ONIONS

Steps:

• Line a baking sheet with nonstick aluminum foil and place it in the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• For the butter: Meanwhile, whisk together the butter, lemon zest and juice, capers, garlic and salt in a medium bowl.
• For the sheet: Slice the spring onions in half lengthwise. If using scallions, they can be left whole.
• Make sure you have all of your ingredients ready to go so you can assemble the sheet and return it to the oven quickly. Remove the sheet from the oven once the oven is preheated. Quickly add the fish in a row, leaving about an inch between each piece. Drizzle the butter mixture over the top, add the lemon slices over the fish, then the spring onions. Sprinkle with paprika. Return the sheet to the oven and bake until cooked through, 12 to 18 minutes. Serve warm, preferably with garlicky mashed potatoes!

LEMON SOLE

Steps:

• Preheat 2 medium non-stick skillets over medium-low heat for 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, lay the fillets on a piece of wax paper, parchment, or a baking sheet and blot dry with paper towels. Season the fillets with salt and pepper. (If the fillets tapers down to a very thin tail, fold the tail back to make a more uniformly thick fillet.) Put the flour on a plate. Dredge the rounded-sides of the fillets in the flour and shake off any excess.
• Raise the heat to medium-high and add 1 tablespoon of butter to each skillet. When the butter stops foaming, add 2 fillets to each pan, rounded-side down, and cook, lightly shaking the skillets occasionally, until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Turn off the heat, flip the fillets with a spatula, and let the fillets finish cooking in the residual heat in the pans, about 2 minutes more. Transfer the fillets to 4 warm plates and cover loosely with foil.
• Add the lemon juice and water to one of the skillets. While moving the skillet in a circular motion, add the remaining 3 tablespoons butter, little by little, until melted and a smooth, creamy sauce is formed. Stir in the parsley and thyme and season with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon some of the sauce over each fillet and serve immediately.

BAKED LEMON SOLE WITH LEMON & CAPER PASTE

Steps:

• First, make the caper paste. Blend the ingredients in a blender or small food processor for 2 mins until you have a smooth-ish purée (if using a food processor, you might need to scrape down the sides once or twice with a spatula). Transfer to a small bowl, cover with cling film and place in the fridge until needed. Can be made 2 days ahead and chilled.
• Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Scatter the lemon zest, lemon thyme and shallots onto a baking tray or ovenproof dish. Sprinkle the fish lightly with salt and put it on top of the shallots, skin-side up. Place pieces of butter on each fish and pour in 200ml water - this will steam the fish and keep it juicy.
• Put the fish and the prepared tray of potatoes (see recipe in Goes well with) in the oven at the same time and bake both for 10 mins, basting the fish halfway through. While the fish cooks, wilt the greens (see recipe in Goes well with) and take the caper paste out of the fridge to come to room temperature.
• Take the fish out of the oven and baste it one last time, then use a cook's blowtorch to char the skin, if you like. Transfer the fish to a serving plate with some of the shallots and lemon zest. Spoon a little of the caper paste over the fish and serve immediately with the new potatoes and wilted spring greens.