Baked Lemon Sole with Lemon Caper Topping

A doctor I visited told me that I should incorporate more fish into my diet.  That was not the only thing she told me to do.  There were in fact many a thing she suggested, many of which I have not done, which perhaps contributes to the fact that I have not seen her again out of guilt...but that's besides the point.  I'm not a big fan of pan frying/sauteeing fish because of the stubborn and lasting smell it creates in my kitchen, so I'm a sucker for recipes that involve baking the fish.


Basically, this recipe is using sole (dover, lemon, grey, whatever)--basically a thin fish--with a flavorful bread/butter/caper/lemon topping. You could probably use tilapia.  Or for that matter, any fish as long as you adjust the cooking time.  Have at it.


The original recipe calls for fresh bread crumbs and walnuts for the topping.  I didn't have fresh bread--enter panko crumbs (other dried breadcrumbs would do). I didn't have walnuts--enter sliced almonds (or just leave it out, it's okay, I won't tell Satan that he should sent you an invitation.


Adapted from Food Network/Sunny Anderson


For topping:

• 1/2 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs), or 4 slices fresh white bread, crusts discarded (I tried writing "decrusted" for the sake of brevity but sounded odd), and bread quarter
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1/4 cup nuts of your choice (walnuts, almonds, whatever)
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan
• 2 TBS olive oil

For sole (or whatever fish):

• 4 lemon sole fillets
• salt and pepper
• 4 TBS butter, plus extra for baking dish (you can lower the butter amount if you're concerned about calories/fat)
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 3 TBS capers

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Butter a 9 x 12 inch casserole dish (or use cooking spray).

Combine bread, lemon zest, nuts and cheese.  You can do this in a food processor, and then drizzle in the olive oil while pulsing.  Or, be like me, and just mince everything finely and toss 'em together before mixing in the olive oil.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter over low heat, then add the lemon juice and capers.

Rinse fillets and pat dry with paper towels.

Season fish with salt and pepper, and place in baking dish.

Pour butter/lemon/capers mixture over fish. Then sprinkle crumb topping over fillets.

Bake, uncovered, for 15 to 20 minutes.

I served this with roasted fingerling potatoes and asparagus with gremolata, which I will discuss in great and fascinating and mind-blowing detail in another post.

This dish was a winner.  Next time I think I might go lighter on the topping, but this was great.

Ta-da!