Pacific Dover Sole with Brown Butter Sauce

I was in the market today and I saw some Pacific Dover Sole for sale and decided to buy some. Pacific Dover Sole tends to be less firm (and a bit less flavorful) than Atlantic Dover Sole, but otherwise has similar properties.

I first dredged these fillets in flour before pan-frying them in olive oil. Because they are so thin, it takes only about 5 minutes (3 minutes on one side, two on the other) for them to become crispy, yet still moist in the middle. I pulled them out of the pan and re-seasoned with a little bit more sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

I then put about two or three tablespoons of butter in the still hot pan, and when it began to bubble and brown, I squeezed a little bit of honey and stirred. After about two minutes, I put in a generous spoonful of capers and little it cook for about 30 seconds. I then finished the sauce with the juice of one lemon, stirred, and then spooned the sauce on my fish.

This was pretty perfect. The fish had a nice crunch, yet was still moist. The brown butter sauce had a hint of sweetness to it, but was balanced by the acidity of the lemon juice, with the capers imparting a pleasant brininess to the dish. This took about twenty minutes to make. A great weekday dinner!