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Sole with Grapes and Champagne

Great with SIMPLY SEAFOOD® WILD NORTH PACIFIC SOLE

This recipe is a variation of the French veronique preparation, which uses white wine and grapes. The delicate, tender flesh of sole is perfect with the refined flavors of the sauce, and together they create a dish that will make any mother proud. True Champagne is by no means a requisite for this recipe; indeed any domestic sparkling white wine will do well.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds sole fillets
• Salt and white pepper
• 2 cups Champagne
• 2 whole stems fresh tarragon
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 1/4 pound seedless green or red grapes, halved

Cooking Instructions:

(Note: numbers reference the images to the right).
Rinse the sole fillets in cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Lightly butter a shallow baking dish and a piece of foil just large enough to cover the dish. Lay the sole fillets in the dish, folding thin tail ends under for even thickness(1) Season with salt and pepper. Preheat oven to 350°F. In a small saucepan, combine the Champagne and tarragon stems. Bring the liquid to a boil and simmer for 1 minute. Carefully pour the hot liquid over the sole fillets. (2) Cover with the buttered foil and bake in the heated oven until the fillets flake easily at the thickest part (3) 2-5 minutes depending on their thickness. Using a spatula, carefully remove the fillets from the liquid (4) and transfer to paper towels. Cover with foil to keep warm. Pour the liquid back into the saucepan, add the cream and bring to a boil. Simmer until the sauce is thick enough to just coat the back of a spoon (5) about 5 minutes. Discard the tarragon stems, stir in the grapes and taste the sauce for seasoning. Arrange the sole fillets on individual plates, spoon the sauce over and serve immediately.

Servings per recipe: 4

Per serving: 546 cal./34 g prot./17 g carbo./3 g sat./6 g mono./.1 g om-3/93 mg chol./3 mg sdm.

In North American fish markets, "sole" is a term used loosely to refer to a variety of small flatfish. Primarily sold in fillets rather than whole, our "sole" is actually from the flounder family of fish. At the risk of provoking argument from Old World chefs, flounder has the same physical characteristics as Europe's true sole and is an excellent alternative.

Because a variety of species are sold as "sole fillets", the size and shape of the fillets can vary. Sole has delicate flesh, so take special care to consider the thickness of your fillets (typically between 1/4 in. and 1/2 in.) before cooking–they may take as little as 2 minutes or as much as 5 minutes to cook, and may fall apart if overcooked.