Sole With Fennel and Blood Oranges
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:2 servings
- 1blood orange, or a Cara Cara navel orange or a half-grapefruit
- ¾pound fillet of sole
- Salt and ground black pepper
- 3tablespoons corn flour (very fine cornmeal) or all-purpose flour
- 2tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2small fennel bulbs, trimmed, cored and thinly sliced, about 1½ cups
- 1tablespoon unsalted butter
- ¼cup fresh lemon juice
- Chopped fennel fronds for garnish
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (2 servings)
387 calories; 23 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 12 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 23 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 9 grams sugars; 24 grams protein; 810 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Cut away the ends of the orange, stand it on end and cut away the skin and pith by slicing down the sides, following the curvature of the fruit. Hold orange above a bowl to catch juice and cut the sections out from between membranes. Cut sections in half crosswise and set aside with the juice.
- Step 2
Season fish with salt and pepper. Lightly dredge in flour and tap to remove excess.
- Step 3
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat in wide, heavy skillet, preferably nonstick, that can accommodate fish fillets in a single layer. Add fennel and cook, stirring often, until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and return the pan to the heat.
- Step 4
Add the remaining olive oil and the butter to the pan. When butter has begun to foam, add fish fillets, rounded side down. Cook 2 to 3 minutes, until the fillets release easily from the surface of the pan and are lightly colored. If the fillets are thin, check after 1 minute. Cook on the other side for 2 to 3 minutes, until fish is opaque all the way through. Do not overcook, or fish will fall apart.
- Step 5
Carefully transfer to individual plates or to a platter. Add lemon juice and orange sections and juice to the pan and stir constantly with a wooden spoon to deglaze. Juice should quickly reduce by half or more. Spoon juice and orange sections over the fish. Sprinkle chopped fennel fronds over top and serve with sautéed fennel on the side.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Francesco-in-Umbria
"Cut sections in half crosswise...." I would think this step would spoil the appearance of the orange section. Furthermore, it does not appear that the sections were cut crosswise in the Times' picture of the plated fish.
Bort
Step 5: By the time the liquid reduced sufficiently, the orange sections were falling apart. I'd suggest adding only the liquid, reducing, then add the orange sections for a quick saute.
Ed
Appears to have meant vertically in half.
Jim Blomquist
Delicious. Made as directed with the addition of a splash of Pernod.
Conrad
Dish lacks any unification. 3/4 lb fish a bit much for 2 people, 1/2 lb more suitable. Agree that fennel needs some salt and pepper, and a boost from some fresh herbs would be welcome (fresh oregano perhaps). Next time would macerate half the oranges into a sauce with a bit of butter or a splash of white wine and try to have something to bring the fennel and fish together. All in all underwhelming, especially for the fussy effort of peeling individual orange sections.
Jon
Doing the reduction goes much better adding a 1/4 cup white wine. This provides additional sauce and adds to the favor. I agree that the orange segments go in later and only for enough time to get them hot. In addition, using some of the fennel rings as a bed for the fish works well.
jacqueline
This unfortunately wasn’t good and ruined our main course Christmas Eve. If you do try to make this I recommend you follow some tips - one fennel is more than enough and you need to season it (not mentioned in the recipe). If your orange doesn’t look super juicy it isn’t and will turn out really bad- consider adding OJ. Some additional spices may do this recipe good as well.
jacqueline
Really not good unfortunately. Some tips if you decide to make this anyway.. use a very juicy orange - maybe add orange juice? Mine was so dry. Though the recipe doesn’t call for it definitely season the fennel. And 1 fennel is more than enough. Really did not enjoy this recipe - I tried to cook it Christmas Eve and it kind of ruined our main course.
C. Schmitt
Delicious! Roasted the potatoes instead but otherwise made as-is with fresh Gulf of Maine sole and the cara cara orange.
Annapurna
Really perfect! I didn’t have sole so I used sea scallops and it turned out beautifully. Only complaint is way too much lemon (and this is coming from someone who LOVES lemon).
Deborah
This is delicious. I doubled the blood oranges because they were small. Next time I will toss the cooked fennel in the pan with the oranges and pile the whole thing on top of the fish. I think this would be good with any white fish and maybe even a good, fatty salmon.
Wendy
I prepared it with bronzino filets and it was great! Preferred the blood oranges to the cara cara for their tartness.
sara bennett
Not clear to me at what temperature the fish should be fried at. I went for medium, but fish slightly overcooked and cornmeal not yet crispy. Maybe worth trying with flour.
gt
The first step is asking you to supreme the orange, then slice the pieces in half. I had trouble understanding it, so hopefully this will clarify. Googling how to supreme is a helpful exercise for this recipe.
Atp
Bought 1 pound for four of us, felt like a ton of fish. Served with fingerlings. One bulb fennel was a ton. Needed two full blood oranges. One would have been paltry.
Jim Blomquist
Delicious. Made as directed with the addition of a splash of Pernod.
sandy
I googled "sole" "citrus" "fennel", what I had in my kitchen, and found this easy, quick and delightful recipe. Results were quite good with Whole Foods cheaper Dover Sole and superb with fish market Dover Sole. The citrus, crispness of the floured fish, the flesh still quite delicate, complement each other perfectly.
Lisa
The blood orange sauce was way too sweet for our beautiful local sole. My second fish-with-fruit recipe from the NYT (the other was Bittman's "Snapper with Rhubarb"), and it's 0-2.
Victor H.
This was a great dish and a great learning experience, too. A bought the fennel bulbs yesterday but made the dish today, causing the leeks to somewhat dry out. I used them anyway and the ended up become alive while sauteing them in olive oil.
Blend of citrus and fennel was pitch perfect.
I would suggest, depending on your starch, to start boiling the potatoes even before dropping the fish into the pan. The boiling water was rolling before I even prepped the fennel and the timing was perfect.
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