Sole Fish with Milk Sauce

A creamy milk sauce with a hint of lemon is perfect to coat this delicate yet flavorful fish. Soles have only a few spines so it’s an ideal fish for kids too. If you want to simplify it, you can use the same recipe for sole fillets as well. 

A great meal to bring to the table for the whole family!

When I was little, this was one of the dishes I was eating very often and which I enjoyed the most. My grandma used to call it “Sogliola alla Mugnaia“, which is the literal italian translation of the famous Sole Meunière. Yes, the same dish that made Julia Child fall in love with French cuisine on their first day in France.

But since the traditional Sole Meunière does not include milk in the recipe, I cannot really call this recipe with this name (I’m Italian and I’m really serious about traditional recipes, so I cannot mess it up). So I’ll call it Milk Sauce, which is exactly what it is. 

It’s a creamy sauce made with milk and butter and a hint of lemon, and it goes perfect with Sole fish because it’s a tender white fish but it also has a distinct flavour of its own which I love. But of course you can also try this recipe with other white fishes if you’d like.

How to clean fresh Sole fish

If you want to simplify this dish you can of course buy Sole fillets, either fresh or frozen (same delicious result), but if you’re adventurous and can find fresh Soles in your supermarket or your local fishmonger, here’s how to tackle the task of cleaning the fish.

First thing to do is to remove all the fish scales on both sides, using the apposite tool or a butter knife. Keep the knife flat on the fish and slide horizontally on the opposite direction of the scales.

Wash the fish to get rid of all the scales you removed, then cut off with scissors the fins on top, bottom and ventral. Cut off the tail too.

At this point you need to remove the skin. Make a little cut at the bottom of the tail, then grab the skin firmly and pull hard to peel it off. You can use a towel for a firmer grasp, as the skin is quite slippery. Do this on both sides.

To clean the insides, make a cut on the belly near the head and pull the entrails out with your fingers. (You can also ask your fishmonger to clean the insides for you). Then cut off the head and clean again the fish with running water.

Now you can choose to either cut fillets out of the fish or use it whole as I did. The Soles only have the central and lateral spines so it’s incredibly easy to remove them just before eating.

The Recipe

Print Recipe

Sole Fish in Milk Sauce

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time10 mins

Fish prep time20 mins

Total Time20 mins

Servings: 2 people

Ingredients

• 60 g (4 tbsp) Butter
• 2 Soles fish
• 1 cup Whole Milk
• 2 tbsp Lemon juice
• All-Purpose Flour
• Salt
• Black Pepper
• Parsley

Instructions

• Pat dry the clean fishes, then season with salt and ground black pepper, then coat them well in flour on both sides.
• Melt the butter in a large pan at medium heat, then sautè the fishes for a couple of minutes on each side, until golden brown.
• Pour the milk and lemon juice in the pan and let it reduce for about 4-5 minutes, until it gets a creamy consistency.
• Season again with salt and black pepper to taste.
• Serve with freshly minced parsley on top.

Notes

I served the fish with boiled potatoes and string beans, seasoned with olive oil and minced garlic.