Lemon sole, peas & bacon by James Lowe
"This is designed as a quick and easy dinner, requiring just a couple of pans. Frying a flat fish is very easy but it scares a lot of people. If you don’t fancy attempting to fry the fish you can always cut a piece of parchment that will line the frying pan and roast it in a 190C oven. The parchment means the fish won’t stick and the washing up will be super easy!" James Lowe, @flor.london @lyleslondon
Equipment: S1 Saucepan & S5 Frying pan
Ingredients
- Lemon sole (500g) x 1
- Veg oil x 50ml
- Diced bacon x 50g
- Butter x 150g
- White wine x 75ml
- Peas x 200g
- Chopped chives x 10g
Start by putting the frying pan on a high heat, you want to make sure the fish goes into a hot pan.
There are a few things you should do to make sure that the fish doesn’t stick and also so that the fat doesn’t splash anywhere.
i.Pat the fish down all over with a cloth or paper towel to make sure it is as dry as possible.
ii.Pour in the veg oil and swirl it round the pan.
iii. Holding the fish by the tail, lay the head down first on the near side of the pan and then lay the fish in slowly directed away from you.
iv. Shake the pan as you are finishing laying the fish down and continue to do so for 10 seconds.
Continue to move the fish every 15 seconds for a minute.
Add 50g butter to the fish pan and baste the white skin of the fish, turn the heat down to medium-ish and then flip the fish very carefully with a spatula.
Swirl the fish again after you’ve flipped it and continue to baste.
Remove the pan from the heat. You’re trying to maintain heat in the pan but not let it get so hot the butter burns.
Squeeze in the juice of half a lemon and baste again.
Transfer the fish to a plate to rest.
While you’re at the stage of basting the fish, put the small one-handled pan onto a high heat and add the diced bacon with 20g butter and cook until browned and crispy. Add the wine, the peas and the remainder of the butter and bring to a boil.
Once the peas have become bright green (they will be done after 20 seconds of boiling) add the chopped chives, salt and pepper. Serve these in a side bowl or on the plate with the fish.
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Photos by @darcyjward @hectormarshall.photos
