Sole Roses, Truffle Mash, Mustard Cheese Sauce

I received some beautiful fillets of sole from Peterhead Fish Company this week. Sole is a great fish for fish beginners. The thin, soft flesh of the fillets are not particularly ‘fishy’ and they melt in the mouth – delicious! Sole is a group of several flat fish including lemon sole and dover sole. I previously got some lemon sole and cooked it with a tarragon caper sauce and potato croquettes- find the recipe here. I decided to do another creamy sauce with the grey sole- it goes so well with the soft fish. I have also served it with fresh spinach for a healthy boost and truffle mash. Truffle gives so much richness and so you only need the tiniest amount for big flavour. I use Truffle Hunter oils which I have found to be excellent for flavour and quality. 

RECIPE

SERVES 2 

Difficulty Level: Home Cook

Ingredients:

• Around 3 thin sole fillets (use any type of sole you can get- I used grey) Thinner is better for this dish. I have estimated at 3, but if you have wide fillets you can cut these in half lengthways
• About 4 large potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
• Truffle oil
• 300ml double cream
• 2 tablespoons creme fraiche 
• 1 tablespoon mustard (I used wholegrain, but dijon would be really good too)
• 50g strong cheddar cheese, grated
• Nutmeg
• White pepper
• 2 large handfuls spinach
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper

`Method:

1. First, put the potato chunks in a large pan of cold salted water. Bring to the boil and simmer for around 10 minutes until the potatoes are soft.
2. Meanwhile, make the sauce. Place the cream and mustard in a pan and simmer for around 5 minutes. Stir through the creme fraiche, cheddar, white pepper and grate a little nutmeg into the sauce. Taste for seasoning and add salt if needed.
3. Season each fillet of sole lightly with salt and pepper. Roll up into a rose shape- simply tightly roll from one end lengthways to the other. Cut in half and stand upright. They should stay together, but if you’re worried put a cocktail stick in to secure. 
4. Drizzle the sole roses with a little olive oil to prevent them from sticking and place in a steamer. If you don’t have a steamer- make your own. Simply fill a pan 1/4 way up with boiling water, place the sole roses in a colander and put the colander on top of the pan. Cover with a plate. Turn the heat down to low and steam for around 5 minutes. 
5. Whilst the sole is cooking, drain the potatoes and mash. Beat with a wooden spoon to get rid of any lumps and to make it creamy and smooth. Add a tablespoon of truffle oil and mix through.

6. Heat the sauce through and pour on to serving plates. Top with handfuls of spinach leaves, the mash potato and the sole roses. Serve!

TIPS

• You could use a simple mornay béchamel sauce instead of the cream- in a pan, melt 25g butter and stir through 25g plain flour for a couple of minutes. Gradually add 250ml milk until sauce is smooth. Add 50g grated cheddar and a tablespoon of mustard. The reason I have not used this is firstly, I had cream in the fridge and also a traditional mornay béchamel is thicker than the cream sauce I have made. 
•  If you prefer cooked spinach, simply stir through the sauce until wilted (about 1 minute) – you might want to use more than a handful because it reduces in size greatly.
• Serve with extra green vegetables such as brocolli or kale.