Sogliole al Basilico e ai Pinoli (Sole with Basil and Pine Nuts)

This one comes to us all the the way from Montova, Italy from my friend Anne.

She said she loves Sogliole al Basilico e ai Pinoli because it is so simple and totally relies on the freshness of the ingredients. You may use either lemon sole or Dover sole, and you can use a whole sole or just fillets. The important things are fresh fish, high quality olive oil, and fresh basil.

When I tried to make Sogliole al Basilico e ai Pinoli last weekend, I was not able to find any fresh fillets of sole so I used fresh flounder fillets instead and it turned out great.

This recipe comes from the town of Caorle, east of Venice, and well known for its high quality fish and sea food.

Ingredients:
4 sole, about 300 gr or 10 oz. each
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 tbsp pine nuts, coarsely chopped
5-6 basil leaves

Ingredients for marinade:
4 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp chopped fresh basil
coarse sea salt and fresh ground pepper

Preparation:

1. Have sole gutted with the head and the fins removed and skinned by your fish monger, or just use fillets. wash the fish, dry, and place on a dish.
2. Prepare the marinade. put the olive oil in a bowl, beat in the lemon juice until emulsified, then the basil, salt and pepper. spoon the marinade over the sole and leave to marinate in fridge for an hour.
3. Preheat oven to 200 celsius, 400 farenheit.
4. Lift the sole out of marinade. grease a shallow large baking dish with olive oil and lay fish in it. place the dish in the preheated oven and cook for about 10 minutes for whole fish, 7 for fillets.
5. Meanwhile, heat the marinade and add the pine nuts. when the liquid gets to boiling point, pour it over sole and leave to cook a couple more minutes (no more than 2 for fillets, 5 for whole fish).

Note:

• If you don't like the idea of using the used marinade as a dressing, it is simple to just make a double portion of the marinade and to keep half of it to pour over fish.
• Also, be careful not to add too much lemon, as it can cut down on the flavor of the olive oil and basil.

Need a wine to go with this? Try this one: Casa-Silva-Sauvignon-Blanc


Italy