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Prep time
20 minutes
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Cook time
10 minutes
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Serves
4
Author Notes
The Food52 Cookbook Club cooked through Naomi Pomeroy's "Taste and Technique" in March of 2023. Upon hearing of her passing (July 13, 2024), we are revisiting her recipes in tribute. You'll need her lemon confit recipe for this dish.
From Naomi’s introduction:
This dish is a cleaner, brighter version of a traditional chicken or veal piccata. In fact, it bears only a passing resemblance to the piccata preparations of old-school red sauce joints, though the core flavors remain the same. Lemon and capers are essential elements of piccata, and pairing fish with Lemon Confit and Fried Caper Relish is my way of paying homage to the classic dish. Think of it as a deconstructed take that allows each individual component on the plate to shine.
I like it when there’s a little variety in every bite, so instead of covering the whole fillet in a buttery wine sauce, you can mix and match little bites of fish, confit, and fried caper. Packed with flavor, this relish has the acidity of a vinaigrette, but boasts an amazing amount of textural interest from the fried capers. (I prefer salt-packed capers, which tend to be more mature, have a better flavor, and open up like flowers when fried.)
Fish fried in a shallow pan is one of the quickest meals a home cook can make. Because cooking sole takes less than two minutes, timing is important. The sauce should be totally finished and the table set before you even think about starting the fish.
It’s okay to use any flat white fish like turbot or flounder in lieu of sole, keeping in mind that the cooking time will change according to the thickness of the fillet.
NOTE: The relish, minus the fried capers, can be assembled up to a day in advance. Just before serving, fry the capers and stir them into the relish.
—Linsey Sowa
Test Kitchen Notes
Reprinted with permission from "Taste & Technique: Recipes to Elevate Your Home Cooking" by Naomi Pomeroy with Jamie Feldmar, copyright © 2016. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.
—The Editors
Ingredients
- For the Lemon Confit and Fried Caper Relish
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1/4 cup
brined or salt-packed capers (see headnote)
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1 1/2 cups
canola oil
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3 tablespoons
/90268-lemolemon confit, plus one tablespoon of its oil
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1 tablespoon
Plus 1 teaspoon lemon juice
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1/2 teaspoon
aged sherry vinegar
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1 tablespoon
extra-virgin olive oil
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3 tablespoons
finely diced shallot
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2
cloves garlic, thinly sliced
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1/8 teaspoon
red chile flakes
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1 teaspoon
sweet Marsala
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1/4 cup
roughly torn flat-leaf parsley leaves
- For the Sole Piccata
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1 pound
sole or other thin, flaky white fish fillets (abut 8 fillets)
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1 teaspoon
salt
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1/2 teaspoon
freshly ground black pepper
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1/2 cup
Wondra flour
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4 tablespoons
butter
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2 tablespoons
extra-virgin olive oil
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2
lemon wedges, seeded
Directions
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If the capers are in brine, drain well and press gently between paper or cloth towels until totally dry. If the capers are salt packed, soak in warm water for about 10 minutes, then remove with a slotted spoon, allowing the salt crystals to fall to the bottom.
Put the capers in a bowl of fresh water and let soak for 5 minutes more. Drain well and press gently between paper or cloth towels until totally dry.
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Pour the canola oil into a 2-quart saucepan and heat to 350°F over high heat. Drop in the capers and cook for about 2 minutes, or until they open up into little flowers and begin to look crunchy. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a paper towel. Let cool completely.
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Put the lemon confit and confit oil, lemon juice, and vinegar in a small bowl and set aside
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In a small saucepan, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallot and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until it, too, is translucent, about 1 minute. Stir in the chile flakes and Marsala and turn off the heat.
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Add the shallot mixture to the bowl with the lemon confit and stir to mix. Add the parsley and fried capers and stir briefly to combine.
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Season the fish on both sides with the salt and pepper. Spread the flour on a plate. One at a time, lay each piece of fish on the flour and press gently, then flip to lightly flour the other side. Place the dredged fish on a plate.
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Heat your two largest sauté pans over medium-high heat, add 2 tablespoons of the butter and 1 tablespoon of the oil to each pan, and heat until the butter begins to foam slightly and starts to turn a very light golden color. Add half of the fish fillets in a single layer to each pan and tap each piece lightly with a fish spatula to ensure the fillets make good contact with the pan. Don’t worry if your butter is browning; as long as it doesn’t turn black, it will add nice depth of flavor. When the first fillets to go into the pan have cooked for 1 minute, begin flipping all of the fillets in the order in which you put them in. When they have cooked for 30 seconds on the other side, check 1 fillet by gently flaking off an end piece. Make sure each piece is nearly cooked then remove the pans from the heat—the fish will continue cooking slightly. Squeeze a lemon wedge over each pan of fish.
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Carefully transfer the fish to individual plates, dividing them evenly. Spoon about 3 tablespoons of the relish over each portion.
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