Note: the fish is a crumbly white fish with a funny texture. Maybe try crusting the fish with nuts and cooking in the oven?
- 1 pound long cut pasta
- 4 sole fillets, 7-8 oz each
- Black pepper
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 3 tablespoons half-and-half or whole milk
- 3 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
- Zest and juice of 2 lemons
- 1/4 C olive oil
- 4-5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1 C fresh basil, about 20 leaves, shredded or torn
- 1 plum tomato, seeded and diced small
Cook pasta to al dente. Keep some of the cooking liquid.
While pasta cooks, rinse and pat the fish dry, then season with salt and pepper. Beat the eggs with the half-and-half or milk. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the butter. When the butter has melted and is hot, dip the fillets in the egg mixture, then transfer them to the skillet. Cook the fillets for 3-4 minutes on each side, or until deeply golden brown.
While the fish cooks, zest the lemons. Heat the oil in a deep skillet over medium-low heat. Add the lemon zest and garlic to the oil. Sweat the garlic for 2 minutes, then add the wine and reduce for 30 seconds. Add a ladle of the starchy pasta water and the juice of 1 of the lemons nad reduce for 30 seconds more. Turn off the heat.
When the fish is done, transfer it to serving plates and add the juice of the remaining lemon to the pan. Turn the heat off. Le the lemon juice combine with the pan juices, then spoon the juices over the fish.
Drain the pasta well and add to the garlic-lemon-wine sauce. Add the basil and toss the pasta for 1 minute to absorb the flavors. Season the pasta with salt and pepper. Serve the pasta alongside the fish garnished with cubes of tomato.
Rachael Ray