Petrale Sole with Brown Butter & Capers

Delicate and buttery, wild sole fillets are so slender they cook in a flash, and don’t need much to shine—but nutty brown butter and briny burst capers take it over the top. 

What You Get

Baby broccoli 

Parsley 

Capers 

Wild petrale sole (see note below) 

Lemon 

Cooked fregola pasta 

What You’ll Need

Salt and freshly ground pepper

All-purpose flour

Butter

Dry white wine or chicken broth (optional) 

Makes 3 servings

Active Time: 30 minutes 

Total Time: 30 minutes 

Step 1

Trim the baby broccoli. Pick the parsley, toss the stems, and chop the leaves. Drain and coarsely chop 2 teaspoons capers. Remove the fish from the packaging, pat dry with paper towels, and cut into 3 pieces, if necessary. Season on both sides with salt and pepper. Pour ½ cup flour onto a plate, and dredge the fish in the flour, shaking to remove any excess. 

Step 2

In a large nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat, bring ½ cup water to a simmer. Add the broccoli and season with salt. Cover and steam until bright green and tender-crisp, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Step 3

Pour out any water from the pan, return the pan to medium-high heat, and melt 3 tablespoons butter. Add the fish and fry until golden, turning once, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate. 

Step 4

Return the pan to the heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter, and continue to cook until browned and nutty, 3 minutes. Add ½ cup wine, broth, or water, the juice of ½ lemon, and the capers, and simmer until reduced slightly, 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the parsley. 

Step 5

Reheat the fregola in the microwave until warm, 1 to 2 minutes. Cut the remaining lemon into wedges for serving. 

Step 6

Transfer the fish to plates, and spoon the fregola and broccoli on the side. Drizzle everything with the brown butter–caper sauce and serve warm, with the lemon wedges for squeezing.

Note: The fish may arrive frozen for freshness. Store it in the refrigerator to defrost before cooking. If you need to defrost it same day, place the sealed package in a bowl of cold water, and leave the tap running in a thin stream for about 30 minutes.