Sole and Crispy Eggplant
A simple and delicious way to serve fresh sole: the fish are baked with a topping of bread crumbs and Gruyere cheese, and served over a bed of fresh vegetables. An herb-tomato sauce accompanies the dish.
Ingredients
- Sole - six 1-1/2 pound, or 12 sole fillets
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- Eggplant - 2 pounds
- Canola oil for deep-frying
- Bread Crumbs - 1 cup
- Gruyere cheese - 1 cup, grated
- Fish stock (see Basics) or clam juice - 1 cup
- Vegetables
- Zucchini - 2, sliced thin
- Carrots - 4, sliced thin
- Red or yellow potatoes - 2 large, sliced thin
- Unsalted butter - 2 tablespoons
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- Sauce
- Juice of 2 lemons
- Garlic Clove - 1 large, smashed
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- Olive Oil - 1/2 cup
- Tomato - 1 medium, peeled, seeded, and diced
- Basil Sprigs - 1, stemmed and minced
- Reserved fish pan juices - 1/4 cup (above)
- Basil Sprigs - 6
Instructions
To prepare the fish: Preheat the oven to 375 F. Butter a sided baking sheet. Trim the sole. Salt and pepper them and place on the baking sheet. Peel the eggplant and slice into 3/8-inch discs. Heat the oil to 360 F in a deep-fryer or deep pan and fry half of the slices until softened and lightly browned. Place on paper towels to drain and repeat with the remaining slices. Do not cook the eggplant slices completely; just brown and crisp the outside. Cover the sole fillets with eggplant slices, overlapping the slices slightly. In a medium bowl, combine the bread crumbs and cheese. Spread the mixture over the eggplant. Pour the fish stock around the fillets and bake 8 minutes, until the fish is done through and flakes easily. Lift the fish with a slotted spatula and place on a platter. Strain the pan juices through a fine-meshed sieve and reserve.
To prepare the vegetables: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the vegetable slices and bring back to a boil; cook 45 seconds to 1 minute, until just al dente, lift out with a slotted spoon, and plunge into ice water. Lift out with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
To make the sauce: Put the lemon juice, garlic, and salt and pepper in a non-aluminum bowl. Whisk in the olive oil. Stir in the tomato and basil. Gently whisk in the reserved pan juices.
To serve: Divide the vegetables among the plates and pile them in the centers of the plates. Place one whole or two halved fillets of sole over the vegetables on each plate. Drizzle sauce over the fish. Garnish each with a sprig of basil.
