Caper & Butter Petrale Sole & Roasted Fennel
Hey Gianni’s back in the kitchen. As my fans told us during our Meet & Eat YouTube livestream, enough talking. Get back in the kitchen.
We took their advice. We’re still in lock-down here. Jeff, Gwen and I cannot be together to produce episodes. That leaves me, all alone in my kitchen. My producers coached me as we set up new gear and tech for me to cook and shoot video with my iPhone.
Here’s my first episode. I’m rusty and the video stuff is new to me. But I’m undeterred. If you like my first effort we’ll continue with a new series Lunch with Gianni. I’ll turn the camera on every once in awhile and show you what I’m cooking for lunch. Let us know what you think.
In this episode I’m reaching back to 2 favorite dishes that I posted earlier but without video. I’m bringing them to life here.
Petrale Sole in Caper Butter Sauce
A quick simple dish that you’ll be eating in about 15 minutes. The sole filets take on a golden crust and are flakey and moist. The edges are crisp and nutty. The caper butter sauce gently enhances each bite.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. sole, flounder or other flat fish
- 1/4 cup flour
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons capers in brine
- 1/4 cup dry white wine
- sea salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon roughly chopped Italian fresh parsley, as a garnish (optional)
- lemon slices, as a garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Put a saute pan over medium-high heat and add the olive oil and butter.
- Sprinkle salt and pepper on one side of the fish.
- Lightly dredge the fish in flour. Shake off any excess.
- When the butter is melted saute the fish until a golden crust begins to form, two or 3 minutes on each side depending on the thickness of the fillet.
- Remove the sautéed fillets to a serving platter.
- Turn the heat to high.
- Add the white wine to the pan, scrape the fond on the bottom of the pan and stir to dissolve the brown bits.
- Add the capers to the pan and stir until the sauce thickens, about a minute or 2.
- Pour the sauce over the fillets.
- If using the garnishes, sprinkle the fish with the chopped parsley, scatter the lemon slices about. Serve immediately.
Roasted Fennel with Grated Parmigiana Reggiano
This simple dish is roasted in the oven for 15 minutes or less and emerges from the oven with mellow fennel with nutty, crispy parmigiano on top.
Ingredients
- 1 large fennel bulb (add another bulb if serving more than 3-4)
- 1/4 cup grated parmigiano reggiano
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 425 degrees and boil enough water in a pot to hold the fennel.
- Cut the bulb into quarters. Remove any tough or bruised outer layers and cut out the core.
- Boil the fennel until knife tender, about 10 minutes and put the fennel on a dish to cool.
- Put the fennel slices in a baking dish.
- Coat the fennel with extra virgin olive oil.
- Lay the fennel slices in a single layer and sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
- Sprinkle the grated parmigiano evenly over the fennel slices.
- Bake until the parmigiano takes on a golden color, about 12-15 minutes.
- Serve immediately or at room temperature.
Keep on cooking. Buon appetito!
Great combo! Made this tonight after coming across your YouTube. Fish turned out phenomenal, used Orange Roughy.
Flavor of fennel was great but I think next time I need to dry them more before throwing in the oven to get it crispy. Minor tweak.
But I botched the pan sauce and skipped it. Smelled like burned mess after never really reducing. Any pointers?
Thanks!
Ciao Greg. You gotta roll with the punches. Yes the fennel pieces should be dry only moistened by a coating of extra virgin olive oil before adding the grated parmigiano on top. I remove the fish or whatever I’m sautéing over medium-high heat as soon as I get the doneness and color I want and put them aside on a plate. Then I immediately add wine or other liquid to scrape up the fond, th brown bits on the bottom of the pan. That will stabilize the pan so you can burn off the wine’s alcohol and add the other ingredients to finish the pan sauce.
Keep on cooking and buon appetito.
–Gianni
It was great to discover that you are back cooking in your kitchen…so relaxed and enthusiastic about sharing your
delicious recipes . Ironically we’ve been searching for a petrale sole
recipe that looks and tastes like the one you make!!😀
Thank you…can’t wait to make that plus the fennel one as well!
Cheers, Betsy (and Tim) Geraci
Ciao Tim and Betsy. Go big. Make them both. The mellow nutty fennel is a fantastic counterbalance to the sole’s caper butter sauce. Let me know how it turns out for you.
Keep on cooking and buon appetito.
–Gianni
I’m so glad you’re back! Can’t tell you how much I enjoy watching you cook 😎 Stay well!
Thank you Ursula. I’m so happy to be back. I hope Lunch with Gianni gains an audience during the lock-down. It’s fun for me and hopefully will bring some brightness to others.