Lemon Sole with Cabbage, Fennel and Sunchoke Slaw
As elegant as it may look and sound, this recipe was in all actuality born out of both a desire to clean out my produce drawer and a Sunday night grocery store trip that didn’t quite go as planned (they ran out of Branzino!). The end result, however, made for the perfect Spring supper that took a little over an hour to prepare. It also makes great use of shoulder season produce (sunchokes, fennel and cabbage), which is a win for me, my CSA, and the fridge.
(PS - If you can’t find sunchokes, you can subsitute with any other mild, crispy root vegetable such as celeriac or daikon.)
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
For the Fish:
5-6 fillets of Lemon Sole
½ cup olive oil
3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 tbsp capers
6 scallions, 4 sliced in half length-wise, 2 sliced into ¼” pieces
1-2 lemons, sliced in rounds
Salt and pepper to taste
For the Slaw:
1 lb of sunchokes (aka Jerusalem Artichokes)
1 head of fennel, sliced. Save the dill fronds and chop.
½ head of Savoy cabbage, sliced across into ¼” strips
1 cup parmesan shavings (using a vegetable peeler)
6 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tbsp walnut oil
1 scallion, sliced in ¼” pieces
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
To prepare the fish:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees, and prepare a sheet pan for the fish by lining it with parchment.
2. Lay out Lemon Sole fillets onto the lined pan, and lightly salt and pepper both sides. I prefer using Maldon to salt the fish, but Kosher also works. (Just be sure not to dust with a heavy hand if using the latter; the bigger crystals can be extra salty!)
3. In a small bowl, combine lemon juice, butter, olive oil, and salt to taste, and whisk together. Add capers, garlic, and shallots, and stir. Pour mixture over the fish fillets. Top fillets with the lemon slices and the 4 scallions sliced lengthwise.
4. Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes, setting timer to check at 12 minutes to ensure fillets don’t overcook.
5. Once done, remove from the oven and set aside to pair with the slaw.
To prepare the slaw:
1. Bring a medium saucepan filled with salted water to a boil. Add sunchokes and lower the temperature to a simmer, letting it cook for 2 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water.
2. Slice the sunchokes as thinly as possible. (You can also use a mandoline or the slicing attachment on a food processor, but it’s fine to use a sharp knife.) Set aside with the sliced cabbage, sliced fennel, chopped fennel fronds and scallions.
3. For the dressing, combine the olive oil, walnut oil, white wine vinegar, and lemon juice, adding salt and pepper to taste. Whisk. Add in the parmesan shavings, then the vegetables, scallions and fennel fronds, mixing well until cabbage, fennel and sunchokes are coated in dressing. Serve to the side of the fish with more parmesan shavings and freshly cracked pepper on top.