Broiled Sole with a Lemon Dill Crust

This dish is based on something from, I think, a Pierre Franey book a roomie had 30 or more years ago. I am not a huge fan of mayo on sandwiches, but I do love to use it as part of other things like dressing or this lovely golden glaze for fish. Really, there is only a little mayo per person, so it is not such a bad thing, and it glazes beautifully under the broiler. This dish can be prepped and cooked in the amount of time it takes to cook a pot of rice, and is a great way to show off the unique flavor of dill. This technique works with fish other than sole, as long as it is thinly sliced. I’d say 3/8ths to ½ inch thick is the maximum for this technique. I have done this with thinly sliced salmon that I put between sheets of plastic and then thinned by using a rolling pin on it. Very rich.

INGREDIENTS:
1 to 1½ pounds of sole, or other thin flat fish fillet
5 tablespoons mayonnaise
1-2 tablespoons Dijon style mustard (or to taste)
1 teaspoon Meyer lemon juice (or more as needed)
1-2 tablespoons fresh dill (or parsley), snipped finely with your sharpest scissors
Salt and pepper to taste
Oil or butter as needed
Meyer lemon wedges for passing

METHOD:
Preheat the broiler and place a rack 4 to 5 inches away from the broiler. Place foil onto a pan that will hold the fish and fit under the broiler. Lightly oil or butter the foil. In a non-reactive bowl, whisk the mayo and the mustard together. Taste before adding all the mustard. Neither the mustard nor the mayo should stand out as a dominant flavor; the mixture should meld into something not quite mayo, not quite mustard. Add the lemon juice and stir. Season with the salt and pepper and whisk in thoroughly. Taste again for balance. Adjust if needed. Taking care not to smash the dill, sprinkle it over the surface of the sauce, starting with half the amount. Mix it in, and taste the sauce. Add more dill as needed to give a definite dill flavor without being overwhelming.

Place the fish fillets on the foil of the broiler pan, and then paint the fillets with the dill lemon mayo. Cover the fillets with the sauce, but never more than ¼ inch thick. Place the pan under the broiler and cook until the sauce has turned bubbly and golden with dark speckling. This should take about 8-10 minutes. Use a long thin bladed spatula to remove the fish to dinner plates. (I would advise against trying to move the fillets to a serving platter and then to plates as the fish is fragile) Serve hot with lemon wedges for squeezing on the side.

Chef’s Notes:
This technique of using mayonnaise to glaze things is fun for experimenting. Try changing the herbs, adding orange juice instead of lemon, adding a swipe of miso and ginger. This sauce works well on slabs of tofu, and works for boneless/skinless chicken breasts as well. For the chicken, slice the chicken ½ an inch thick and paint with the sauce. Cook in the center of the oven until done and golden, around 20-25 minutes.

Serves: 4

Source: Chef Andrew E Cohen