Last Friday, I had a great opportunity to jet out of work early and hit the Puget Sound for some first-of-the-season fishing! The weather has finally taken a turn for the better here in the Northwest  and the sun was shining, so it was a perfect day to be out on the water. The wind was light and the water was calm, perfect conditions to catch Rock Sole, a common fare in the waters off Whidbey Island. We had some good luck too, as I ended the day with three nice fish, a bit of color in the face and a good beer buzz.

Rock Sole is a flat white fish with a mild flavor, similar to halibut and other white fish. Sole is also very low in saturated fat making for an exceptional lean protein to compliment any spring time healthy eating plan. This tasty fish is also a good source of Vitamin D, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Phosphorus, Vitamin B12 and Selenium.

With the light and flaky characteristic of this fish, it can be prepared so many different ways! One of my favorite ways to prepare Sole  is to stuff with a light shrimp stuffing and bake it in a dry sherry drizzle. This is a very simple recipe to prepare and is full of fresh, light flavors that you’ll not only enjoy- but feel good about eating because its nutrient rich and low in saturated fat!

Shrimp Stuffed Rock Sole – Recipe

Fish Baking Ingredients

• 4-six ounce sole fillets
• 1/2 cup dry sherry
• 1-medium lemon
• olive oil
• salt
• pepper

Stuffing mixture Ingredients:

• 1/2lb of shrimp – cooked, peeled, tails off
• 1-medium shallot – quartered
• 3-small cloves garlic – smashed
• 1-medium organic red pepper – cut into processable strips
• 5-small sun dried tomatoes (out of the jar)
• 1 -tbsp – light, three cheese Italian blend (Romano, Asiago, Parmesan)
• 1/4 -cup dry sherry
• 1/4 – cup bread crumbs
• 1-medium organic lemon – halved
• 1-tbsp olive oil
• 1/4-tsp salt
• 1/4-tsp pepper
• 1/4-tsp paprika
• 1-tsp parsley
• 1/2-tsp thyme
• 1/2-tsp tarragon

Sauce Ingredients:

• 1- cup dry sherry or white wine
• 1-small shallot, minced
• 2 – tbsp smart balance butter blend (no cholesterol and low saturated fat)
• 1-tbsp olive oil
• 1/4-cup lemon juice
• salt – to taste
• pepper – to taste
• tarragon – to taste
• thyme -  to taste
• 1 tsp of corn starch – mixed with water to make a slurry

Preparation:

First, you’ll want to prepare the shrimp filling. If you have a food processor or food grinder attachment for your kitchen-aid, you’ll want to dig this out. I used the food grinder attachment for my kitchen-aid in this preparation. (If you do not have a food processor or grinder, you’ll want to mince the vegetables mentioned above as well as the shrimp and combine in a mixing bowl.)

In a large bowl, combine shrimp, shallot quarters, garlic cloves, red pepper slices, sun-dried tomatoes, and cheese blend – mix this around. Use your coarse grinder attachment at a speed of 2 and begin to feed this mixture in batch by batch until completely ground. If using a food processor, simply add all the ingredients and pulse blend the ingredients until the consistency of very small cheese crumbles with finely minced vegetables.

Once you have your mixture base in a bowl, take the halved lemon and squeeze all the juice into the mixture. Then add in the sherry, olive oil (1tbsp), breadcrumbs, herbs and spices. With a spoon, stir the mixture until well mixed – set aside or chill until ready to use.

Now that we have the mixture ready, take your sole fillets and lay them out on a nice flat surface. Lightly sprinkle with lemon, salt and pepper. Next, grab your mixture and with a spoon, supply a generous portion of the stuffing horizontally across the middle portion of the fillet. You’ll want to leave room so that both ends may be folded over (about 2 inches each end – depending on size of fillet, this will vary). Once your mixture is placed on the fish, gently grab one end and begin to roll this over. Once completely rolled, secure with 1-2 tooth picks and place into a well oiled baking dish. Repeat for all of your fillets. Any remaining filling may be placed into the baking dish around the stuffed fillets and adds a nice flavor to the outside of the fish when baking.

Once the fillets have been stuffed and are now placed in a nicely oiled baking dish, take a little bit of olive oil and brush the tops of the fish, coating evenly and finish with a dusting of salt and pepper. Next, take the 1/2 cup dry sherry and pour this into the baking dish making sure to evenly spread throughout. Take the other lemon, half this, then slice 1/4 inch rounds and slice them in half. Take the half moon lemon slices and place these on top of the fillets for baking. Garnish the dish prior to baking with some finely chopped chives.

In 375 degree, preheated oven – place the fillets on the middle rack and bake for 25 – 30 minutes.

Sauce:

With about 10 minutes left for bake time on the fish, grab a saute pan and heat on med – medium high.  Add in the olive oil, heat – then add the shallot. Gently saute the shallot until carmelized. Next add in the dry sherry or white wine, butter blend, lemon juice and season with the herbs, salt and pepper mentioned above. Boil and reduce this mixture by half and then add the corn starch slurry slowly stirring as it is added. The corn starch is used to thicken the sauce slightly so it grabs onto the fish fillets.

Once your fish is out of the oven and you are plating, gently spoon a little of this sauce over the top, garnish with parsley and enjoy!

Sides: We served this recipe with some sauteed asparagus and a light sun-dried tomato penne pasta with olive oil.

Wine: 2006 Reserve Chardonnay from Silverlake Winery

Popularity: 43% [?]