flipSole Meunière with Beurre Noisette
Sole Meunière with Beurre Noisette
Why this dish? Germaine frequented the dinners of all musical and literary Paris, those salons where Les Six gathered around Satie and Cocteau. The sole meunière, simple and refined, embodies the clear, uncluttered elegance that this milieu — and its music — claimed.
A sole fillet browned in butter, drizzled with a foaming beurre noisette and a squeeze of lemon, sprinkled with parsley. The great classic of fine Parisian tables: few ingredients, but a precise touch.
You see, in Paris one could not entertain without fish, and sole meunière has that grace that it does not cheat: everything is in the butter that you let turn blond until the color of hazelnut. I loved it as I loved composing, without useless frills, clear and clean. One barely floured it, one basted it constantly with its own golden coating, and a squeeze of lemon was enough to awaken it. Serve it as soon as it sings in the pan, my friends, for a sole that waits is a sole lost.
- •Whole sole — 1 fine piece per guest (noble fish)
- •Fresh butter — at discretion (cooking and beurre noisette)
- •Wheat flour — a little (light coating)
- •Lemon — 1 (acidity)
- •Parsley — a bunch (freshness)
Sole Meunière with Beurre Noisette
A sole fillet browned in butter, drizzled with a foaming beurre noisette and a squeeze of lemon, sprinkled with parsley. The great classic of fine Parisian tables: few ingredients, but a precise touch.
Why this dish? Germaine frequented the dinners of all musical and literary Paris, those salons where Les Six gathered around Satie and Cocteau. The sole meunière, simple and refined, embodies the clear, uncluttered elegance that this milieu — and its music — claimed.
You see, in Paris one could not entertain without fish, and sole meunière has that grace that it does not cheat: everything is in the butter that you let turn blond until the color of hazelnut. I loved it as I loved composing, without useless frills, clear and clean. One barely floured it, one basted it constantly with its own golden coating, and a squeeze of lemon was enough to awaken it. Serve it as soon as it sings in the pan, my friends, for a sole that waits is a sole lost.
Ingredients (period version)
- Whole sole — 1 fine piece per guest (noble fish)
- Fresh butter — at discretion (cooking and beurre noisette)
- Wheat flour — a little (light coating)
- Lemon — 1 (acidity)
- Parsley — a bunch (freshness)
Ingredients
- Sole fillets (or lemon sole) — 2 fillets per person (fish)
- Unsalted butter — 80 g (cooking + beurre noisette)
- Flour — 3 tbsp (coating)
- Lemon — 1 (acidity)
- Flat-leaf parsley — a few sprigs (garnish)
- Salt, pepper — to taste (seasoning)
Method
- Dry the fillets, season with salt and pepper, and lightly flour them, tapping off excess.
- Melt 30 g butter in a pan until foaming; place the fillets in and cook 2 to 3 minutes per side, basting, until nicely golden.
- Keep the fish warm on the serving plate.
- In the cleaned pan, melt the remaining butter until it turns golden and smells of hazelnut.
- Pour this beurre noisette over the fillets, add a squeeze of lemon and chopped parsley. Serve immediately.
How it was made : At the time, sole arrived fresh from the Normandy coast by the morning train and was cooked in farm butter in a copper pan. The 'meunière' cooking method (from the miller's wife) refers to the light flour coating.
The contemporary twist : Serve the fillet on a slate plate with a fine line of beurre noisette brushed on and fried capers for crunch.
Sources : Auguste Escoffier, Le Guide culinaire, 1903 · Prosper Montagné, Larousse gastronomique, 1938
Germaine Tailleferre · Charactorium
