I recently caught Chef Jacques Pepin serving up some paupiettes of sole. Now don’t go scrambling for your French-English dictionaries, a paupiette is simply sometime rolled-up – in this case a fillet of sole. I immediately had to use this method of baking sole as it looks gorgeous and the fillet will cook more evenly.

Being a Greek blog, I felt inclined to apply Greek flavours to this dish. Nothing could be more Greek than Avgolemono Sauce (egg/lemon sauce). Eggs get whipped until frothy and fresh lemon juice is then whisked in. This mixture gets tempered in hot liquid and the result is a creamy sauce that is delicious, lighter than your usual heavy cream sauces and versatile.

This dish reminds of a Greek Fricasse, made with stewed lamb or veal. Chopped romaine lettuce is softened and simmered, scallions or onions, diced vegetables and lastly, the Avgolemono Sauce is blended in to round out the dish.

Before we get on to the dish, we should explore the options you have with the fish; any white flat fish fillet could be used here like sole, flounder, turbot, John Dory, basa or even tilapia. Any of these fillets could be used but you must be aware that cooking times vary as the size (and thickness) of the fillets also varies.

I should also mention that how you roll the fish is also important. You fish fillets will halved, following the line that runs vertically (where the bone was removed). The outside of the fish (skin side) will shrink faster than the inside (bone side) of the fish so therefore, roll your fish with the skin side rolled on the inside, beginning from the thick end of the fillet.

The rest of the recipe is pretty straightforward: the onions, lettuce and vegetables are softened an then the paupiettes of fish and the stock are added. Place the cover on your large skillet and allow the fish to gently poach until cooked. You should have your egg and lemon mixture ready to be added to the dish and a plain white rice pilaf as a side is what I would  recommend.

This dish didn’t take too long, you may continue to cook the fish on your stovetop or throw it in the oven. I chose the oven method. The tangy Avgolemono sauce begs to be paired with a mild lemon flavours of a Boutari Moschofilero white.

Roulade of Sole With Avgolemono (Ρουλάδα της Γλώσσας με αυγολέμονο)

(serves 4)

4 fillets of sole

1/4 cup olive oil

1 bunch of scallions (eight), diced

1 stalk of celery, diced

1 carrot, peeled and diced

4 cups of chopped Romaine lettuce

salt and pepper to taste

2 cups of vegetable/fish or chicken stock (or enough to come half-way up the fish)

4 Tbsp. of chopped fresh dill

Avgolemono Sauce

2 large eggs

juice of 1/2 lemon

1 heaping Tbsp. of all-purpose flour

splash of water

1. Place a large skillet on your stovetop (use an oven-safe skillet if finishing in oven) over medium heat and add your olive oil, scallions, celery and carrots and saute for about 5-7 minutes or until the carrots have softened. Now add your chopped lettuce, a pinch of salt and cover. Simmer for another 5 minutes so that the water from the lettuce can be released.
2. Uncover and continue to simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated.
3. In the meantime, vertically cut your fillets in half by following the line where the spine bone ran. Season your fillets with salt and pepper and roll the fillets from the wide end and ending with the narrow end. Once again, ensure the skin-side of the fillet is rolled on the inside (the skins side will shrimp quicker) so that your roulades do not unravel.
4. Place your roulades of fish upright in your skillet and add the stock (enough to come halfway up the fish). Drizzle with some olive oil, season the tops with  some salt and fresh ground pepper.
5. If finishing off on the stovetop, cover and poach for about 8 -10 minutes or until the fish is fork-tender. In finishing in the oven, place your oven-safe skillet (or transfer to a baking vessel) and bake covered for about 12-15 minutes or until again, the fish is fork-tender and opaque.
6. In the meantime, prepare your Avgolemono (egg/lemon) Sauce. In a large bowl, add your flour and a splash of water and whisk into a slurry. Now add your lemon juice and two eggs and beat until well-blended and frothy. Set aside.
7. When your fish is cooked, transfer/pour the most of the liquid into another bowl. With one hand, whisk the egg lemon mixture and with the other, s-l-0-w-l-y add your hot liquid into the egg/lemon mixture. Add one or two more ladles of hot liquid (continue to whisk) and then pour your now Avgolemono Sauce plus the chopped fresh dill back in with the fish and vegetables. Swirl/shake the skillet/vessel to incorporate the sauce with the fish and vegetables.
8. Serve two roulades per person in a plate along with some Avgolemono Sauce and a mound of rice pilaf and a wedge of lemon.

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