Dover sole with lime and ginger

Dover sole with lime and ginger

If you can’t find Dover sole, any meaty, sweet white fish like hake or cod could be used as a substitute. For a lighter option go for sea bass or bream filets but miss out on the oven section in the recipe. Instead, fry them in a pan, skin-side down and flip for a few minutes for the flesh side.

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp plain flour
• ½-1 tsp chilli powder
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 Dover sole, scaled, cleaned and trimmed (dark skin removed if you can, otherwise you could slash it in several places with a sharp knife), or other fish of your choice
• 1–2 tbsp vegetable or rapeseed oil
• 2 asparagus spears     

For the Sauce

• 140g unsalted butter
• 50g chopped fresh root ginger
• 4 tbsp lime juice (about 3 limes)
• 30g fresh pomegranate seeds
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander

Method

STEP 1

Before prepping the fish, heat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6. Put the chilli powder, salt and pepper into a bowl and mix. Rub the fish in the mixture and be sure to remove any excess. Take a large, ovenproof pan that’s non-stick (or an oiled baking tray) and heat over a medium to high flame. If you have particularly large fish use two pans for ease.

STEP 2

Heat the oil until it starts to smoke. Put the sole in the pan and fry. Don’t move the fish for 3-4 minutes or until you see a golden colour. Next, turn the fish over and move the frying pan onto the top shelf of the oven – leave for 8-10 minutes or until the fish is cooked through.

STEP 3

Boil water in a large pan with a pinch of salt, add the asparagus for 3 minutes or until tender. Drain and put to one side.

STEP 4

Next is the sauce. Melt the butter for 2-3 minutes over medium heat in a frying pan. Toss in the chopped coriander, pomegranate seeds, lime juice and ginger and turn the heat to low so it doesn’t separate. Serve the fish on the asparagus and pour on the sauce. Add salt and pepper as desired.