Pilaf Rice and Sole Meunière

Ingredients

For the Pilaf Rice:

• 400 grams basmati rice
• 50 grams butter
• 1 onion
• 2 bay leaves
• salt
• white pepper
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For the Sole Meunière:

• 4 whole dover sole, one per person, ask your fishmonger to prepare them to cook whole.
• flour
• 100 grams clarified butter for the cooking of the sole
• 150 grams butter for the brown butter
• salt
• white pepper
• 1 bunch chopped parsley
• ½ lemon (juice)

Instructions

1. 1
   Peel and dice the onion.
2. 2
   Melt the butter until it starts to sizzle. (No coloration). Cook the onion on medium high in the butter for about 5 minutes in a saucepan. Then add the rice and the bay leaf (make an incision). Stir the rice with the onions and let the rice become transparent, “nacre” in French, for 2 minutes. Cover with 800 gr of water. Bring to boil. Stir again.
3. 3
   Cover the saucepan, and cook the rice in the oven for about 20 minutes at 375 °. Check from time to time. The rice should be cooked when the water has completely evaporated. If the rice isn’t cooked then add more boiling water.
4. 4
   Salt and pepper to your taste.
5. 5
   To prepare the fish, flour the soles and shake off any excess flour. In a large non-stick pan heat the ¼ of the clarified butter to a gentle sizzling. Take by the head side the sole and place in the butter. Cook the sole in the clarified butter and lower the flame if it gets to high. When the coloration starts getting golden, place a spatula under the fish tail and cook for 2 more minutes. Baste the fish with the butter frequently.
6. 6
   Turn the sole gently by the head. Baste it again with butter and let it cook with the spatula underneath the tail.
7. 7
   Repeat the operation for each sole.
8. 8
   To make the brown butter, heat the remaining 100 gr of butter. It has to start caramelizing. Once it has reached that point (brown butter but not burned butter) deglaze with the lemon juice.
9. 9
   Sprinkle the parsley and the brown butter on the sole. Be generous. Salt and pepper to your taste.
10. 10
    Serve with the pilaf rice.