Sole Meunière with Brown Butter
A whole sole pan-fried golden, lightly floured, drizzled with butter cooked until hazelnut-colored and brightened with a squeeze of lemon and parsley.
A whole sole pan-fried golden, lightly floured, drizzled with butter cooked until hazelnut-colored and brightened with a squeeze of lemon and parsley.
Fish, you see, does not forgive inattention: one minute too long and you have cardboard. I want my sole barely floured, slipped into a singing butter, then that butter left to brown until it smells of hazelnut — a scent that, I confess, has always moved me more than many an actress. A squeeze of lemon for tension, parsley for color, and nothing else: culinary suspense lies in what you remove, not what you add.
- •Whole Dover sole — one per guest (fish)
- •Flour — for dusting (coating)
- •Butter — a good knob (cooking and sauce)
- •Lemon — one (acidity)
- •Parsley — a bunch (finish)
Sole Meunière with Brown Butter
A whole sole pan-fried golden, lightly floured, drizzled with butter cooked until hazelnut-colored and brightened with a squeeze of lemon and parsley.
Why this dish? Hitchcock was very fond of fish, and Dover sole held a special place in his repertoire: in Hollywood, he had his sole and smoked haddock shipped from England. A dish of good taste, simple and buttery, reflecting his careful dinners.
Fish, you see, does not forgive inattention: one minute too long and you have cardboard. I want my sole barely floured, slipped into a singing butter, then that butter left to brown until it smells of hazelnut — a scent that, I confess, has always moved me more than many an actress. A squeeze of lemon for tension, parsley for color, and nothing else: culinary suspense lies in what you remove, not what you add.
Ingredients (period version)
- Whole Dover sole — one per guest (fish)
- Flour — for dusting (coating)
- Butter — a good knob (cooking and sauce)
- Lemon — one (acidity)
- Parsley — a bunch (finish)
Ingredients
- Whole sole, cleaned and skinned — 2 (1 per person) (fish)
- Flour — 3 tbsp (coating)
- Butter — 80 g (cooking and sauce)
- Lemon — 1 (acidity)
- Flat-leaf parsley, chopped — 2 tbsp (finish)
- Salt, white pepper — to taste (seasoning)
Method
- Season the soles, lightly flour them, and tap off excess.
- Melt a little butter in a large pan and cook the soles 3-4 minutes per side, until nicely golden.
- Transfer fish to warm plates.
- Discard the burnt butter, add fresh butter, and let it brown until it smells of hazelnut.
- Off the heat, add lemon juice and parsley, then immediately pour over the soles.
- Serve at once, while the butter is still frothy.
How it was made : Meunière — named after the miller's wife who 'floured' her fish — was the basic butter-fish technique, a French method adopted in all good English homes of the Edwardian era and beyond.
The contemporary twist : Fillet the fish at the table, in front of the guest, in calculated silence: Hitchcock loved to orchestrate the tension of the moment.
Sources : Auguste Escoffier, Le Guide culinaire, 1903 · Jane Grigson, Fish Cookery, 1973 · Donald Spoto, The Dark Side of Genius: The Life of Alfred Hitchcock, 1983
Alfred Hitchcock · Charactorium