Baked Lemon Sole with Capers, Butter & Samphire

• black pepper
• 2cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 2 tbspdry white wine
• 100 gbutter
• 1 tbspolive oil
• 4 x 200glemon sole fillets
• 3 tbspcapers, drained
• 1lemon, zested and juiced
• 200 gsamphire, rinsed
• 15 gflat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• Fine salt
• 700 gnew potatoes, prepared (optional)

Method

1. 1Heat the oven to 200°C/fan 180°C. Lightly oil a large baking dish with the olive oil. Pat the sole fillets dry with kitchen paper, season with black pepper and a light pinch of salt (go gentle here, the capers bring serious salt later). Arrange skin-side down in a single layer.
2. 2Scatter the rinsed samphire around; not over; the fillets so the fish stays exposed and steams cleanly. Samphire is already salty from the sea, so it gets no extra seasoning. Splash the white wine across the dish.
3. 3Melt the butter in a small pan over a medium heat until it stops foaming and smells nutty. Add the sliced garlic and cook just until fragrant; 30 seconds to a minute, until pale gold.
4. 4Take the pan off the heat and stir in the capers, lemon zest and half the chopped parsley. The residual warmth wakes the zest without scorching it.
5. 5Spoon the caper butter generously over each fillet and across the samphire, making sure every piece of fish gets a proper slick; this is what bastes the sole as it cooks.
6. 6Bake for 12–15 minutes, until the sole is opaque all the way through and flakes easily when pressed with a fork. The samphire should be glossy and just tender. Taste a strand of samphire and a spoon of the pan juices; if it needs a whisper more salt, add it, though the capers usually do the job.
7. 7Pull the dish from the oven and finish with a squeeze of lemon juice straight over the fillets; the acid cuts through the butter and lifts the whole dish.
8. 8Plate each fillet with a generous spoon of caper butter and a tangle of samphire. Scatter over the remaining parsley. If using the optional new potatoes, boil them until tender while the fish bakes and serve alongside.

Per serving

kcal

406

protein

35.8g

fibre

2.2g

carbs

6.3g

fat

26.9g