Tuna has gotten a bad wrap in the past, being labeled as the “chicken of the sea”. In my opinion, the real “chicken of the sea” is the sole. Sole (the flatfish) has to be the chicken breast of the sea. It’s lean, it’s white and in need of some flavour. That’s the minus side of the ledger. The plus side is that sole is fish that takes on the flavours that you pair it with. This makes sole a versatile fish that’s open to many cooking applications.

You can fry it, you can roll it, you can poach it, you can stuff it or you can bake it. I’ll go one further….I’m going to stuff AND bake a whole sole. I first made this dish last summer and I was impressed with it’s ease in preparation and short time in the oven. You’re going to need a whole sole fish or other flat fish like turbot or flounder.

The stuffing for this dish consists of scallions, fennel, mushrooms, red peppers and some shrimp and crab meat toss in to make the party interesting. Cleaning/prepping the whole soul involves no more than a scaling of the fish, trimming the perimeter of the fish with kitchen shears and making an cut just below the mouth and gill to remove the guts with your finger.

After, the recipe gets real interesting: after the sauteed filling has cooled, we have to make a cut right down the middle of the fish and then two careful under each half of the fish to loosen the top fillets from the bone. We now have a pocket in the fish which needs filling. Enter the sauteed vegetable and seafood mixture.

Pre-heat your oven, throw in the oven for twenty minutes and you’ve got a WOW dish on your table.

Baked Sole Stuffed With Seafood

(serves 4)

4 whole (bone-in) sole, scaled and gutted

sea salt and fresh ground pepper

Filling

1/4 cup olive oil

1 leek (bunch of scallions) rinsed of any grit and finely chopped

1 cup of fennel bulb, diced

1/2 cup Cremini mushrooms, sliced

1 red bell pepper, diced

zest of 1 lemon

1 cup of coarse bread crumbs

1/2 cup of crab meat

dozen medium-sized shrimp

salt and pepper to taste

3 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

1. Place a large skillet over medium heat, add your olive oil, leeks, mushrooms, red peppers, fennel and saute over medium low heat. Cover and allow the vegetables to sweat for about 15 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Take off the heat, add the breadcrumbs and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Allow to cool, add crab meat, shrimp and lemon zest, toss well and set aside.
2. Pre-heat your oven (middle rack setting). If you haven’t already (or had your fishmonger do it), scale your fish and trip the fins all around the perimeter with kitchen shears. At the bottom of the fish, between the gill and mouth is where the guts are. Make a small cut to open a hole and gently pull them out with your finger. Rinse the fish well and pat-dry.
3. Drizzle a large baking sheet with olive oil and also the fish. Season both sides of the fish with salt and pepper and place the fish with the white side up (presentation side). Carefully make a cut from near the tail to almost the head with a sharp knife (boning knife). Now carefully slide the knife under the top fillets and slice toward the outer part of the fish, using the spinal bone to guide you as you slice and loosen the top 2 sections of the fillet. You know have a created a pocket for your filling.
4. Carefully place the filling in each pocket with the cool stuffing (try and have the shrimp visible on top). Drizzle with olive oil and add about a cup of water around the fish (helps prevent the fish from sticking to the tray). Place in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. Add a pad of butter over each fish or some extra-virgin olive oil.
5. Serve with some rice pilaf, lemon wedges and pair with a Biblia Hora White.

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© 2007-2010 Peter Minakis