Pour un diner romantique – Filet de sole aux olives, tomates cerise, câpres, citron à la purée de fenouil et courge au thym

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solepureefenouilweb

What better than this nice sole for a light romantic dinner? Flavorful but not overpowering, fullfilling enough that you don’t feel like you are starving for the rest of your evening, and it’s a perfect match with a glass of chilled Chardonnay.  I just love fennel with fish, their sweetness complement each other and it reminds me of all those wonderful Mediterranean vegetables.

In France our traditional sole dish is called “Sole Meunière”. “Meunière” refers to fish that had been dipped in flour before cooking in butter, so trouts (truite) can be cooked the same way. So obviously after being dipped in flour, the fish absorbs a lot of the fat, therefore I avoid anything with “meunière” in it. Typical French cuisine with use of butter can be quite heavy, so in any recipe, instead of butter you can substitute olive oil, and broiling instead of sauteing in butter…and you still get something as tasty but not as heavy.

Ingredients for 2

For the sole

  • 2 sole filets
  • about 20 cherry tomatoes, cut in halves
  • 1 tbs capers, rinced
  • 2 tbs kalamata olives, cut in halves
  • zest of one small lemon
  • olive oil for sprinkling
  • salt and pepper

For the fennel -squash purée

  • 4 yellow squash, diced
  • 1 fennel bulb, diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • thyme
  • 1 tbs olive oil
  • salt and pepper

Preparation

Place fish in a baking tray, add all ingredients together and place in the fish tray. Drizzle with some olive oil.

Heat up some olive oil in a pan, add garlic and stir for a few seconds, add squash, fennel and thyme, salt and pepper. Cover and cook at low heat until the vegetables are cooked. Mash with a potato masher to get a puree with some chunks left in it.

Cook fish in a pre-heated oven at 380F for about 20 minutes. Serve very hot.