I have a bad habit I must confess to you, readers. Sometimes, when entering unfamiliar culinary territory (like, say, poaching, or sole), I begin normally, cheerfully scouring the internet and winding up with no less than a dozen unread tabs relating to my new venture. Then, I skim maybe the ingredient plus half a paragraph of two of them, go “Nah”, and ignore everything I just read in favor of throwing random things in a pot and hoping for the best.
This is one of those times, which is why it really shouldn’t taste as amazing as it did, and exactly why it looks as ugly as it does. I spent most of the cooking process in a panic, because the sauce never tasted quite right. I’d ruined it! My little half a fish would have died in vain! Nothing was going to save this, and it would be all my fault if Judgement Day really did happen like all the Muni bus ads are so convinced it will.
Resigned to my fate as a culinary antichrist, I tossed the fish and mushrooms in anyways, and something magical happened, and suddenly it tasted fantastic. My boyfriend literally licked his plate clean. And then stole mine and licked it clean. And then told me to make sure I write about him licking the plates clean. So there you go.
Poached Sole and Mushrooms- Serves 2
- 3 tablespoons olive oil or butter, or a mix of both
- 3 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon flour (I used whole wheat, which is probably why my sauce looks so funky)
- 3/4 cup (nonfat) milk
- 3/4 cup white wine such as a Sauvignon Blanc
- A tiny pinch of cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoons thyme
- 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
- Salt and pepper to taste (I probably used 2 and 1 teaspoon[s], respectively)
- 1 large fillet sole or other white fish, cut to serving sizes (I think I had about 3/4 pound)
- 3+ cups button mushrooms, sliced
Heat/melt your fat of choice (olive oil, butter or both) in a last skillet. Add garlic and onions and saute over medium heat until they begin to brown.
Add the flour and mix to make a roux. Mix in the milk and then the wine. (Apparently if you add both of those at the same time without mixing some first the milk will curdle. Not that I’d know.) Add your cayenne, thyme, salt, pepper and lemon juice and stir until fully incorporated.
Add the fish and mix in the mushrooms so they’re coated in the sauce. Cover the pan and simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes, until fish is opaque and breaks apart easily. Remove the lid and turn the heat up, then let the sauce reduce for another 10 minutes or so. Serve to adoring dinner guests, boyfriends, or what-have-you.
