Dover sole with tomato & cucumber
17 August 2018 at 09:49

Dover sole is possibly, along with turbot, the king of fish, prized for its firm texture and great flavour often called “black” sole in Scotland. It is traditionally served, whole, skinned, dusted in flour and cooked in butter with a squeeze of lemon – Sole Meuniere. For this recipe ask your fishmonger to fillet it for you.
A lovely summer dish as tomatoes and cucumbers are both in season in green houses all over the country! I love the freshness of this and the unexpected crunch after the unctuousness of the fish and tomato.
Ingredients
Half a cucumber
3 ripe tomatoes blanched, skinned quartered, and de seeded
3 dover soles filleted
A little plain flour for dusting
Tblsp chopped chives
Tblsp chopped chervil
1 tblsp olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
30g butter
Tsp lemon juice
Method
- Peel and cut the cucumber lengthwise into quarters and remove and discard the seeds, cut into small chunks.
- Dice the tomatoes into similar size chunks and mix with the herbs.
- Take a frying pan and heat with a little oil, lightly dust the sole fillets in flour and cook on both sides until lightly browned, set aside and keep hot.
- Add the butter to the pan and as it melts add the cucumber chunks, cook for a few minutes as the butter turns lightly brown. Throw in the tomatoes, herbs and lemon juice. Season lightly.
- Serve the fish on 4 hot plates with the buttery tomato and cucumber scattered over.
Recipe by Christopher Trotter.
Food photography by Caroline Trotter.