Dover Sole Gratin with Broccoli and Leeks

I made this last night for dinner and my 22 month old loved it, as did my husband who is a self-confessed 'meat and 2 veggies' kind of guy. I guess I can put fish back on the menu rotation again!

6 dover sole fillets (it was just under a pound in total and to be honest it made a little too much so I actually managed to put some in the freezer too).

2 cups of broccoli florets

1 leek

1tbsp butter

1 tbsp flour

2 cups milk

1/2 cup shredded gruyere cheese (or any other cheese you feel like)

1. Start off by making the cheese sauce. Melt the butter in a pan and add the flour to it. Cook for a couple of minutes. Then add milk slowly to make a creamy consistency (usually between 1 and 2 cups - it's not an exact science), stirring all the time. The sauce will thicken as it comes to temperature. Add the cheese and stir until it is melted in. Cover with some kitchen paper and put to one side.

2. Next, roughly chop a leek, add boiling water and bring to a simmer for about 8 minutes. Drain and then blend to a smooth consistency. Add to the cheese sauce.

3. Whilst the leek is cooking, you could also cook the broccoli florets until just tender. Blend to a chunky consistency and put to one side until the fish is cooked.

4. Next cook the fish. You can put it under the broiler but I prefer to fry in a tiny bit of olive oil. 3 minutes each side is more than enough for small dover sole fillets.

5. Once cooked, place the fillets of fish side by side on a casserole dish. Spoon a thin layer of the broccoli puree over the top of each piece of fish. Then top off with the cheese sauce. Put under the broiler for a couple of minutes to brown the top of the sauce.

I served with baked potatoes but I think it would go nicely with wild rice or even pasta too. Super easy and dinner from start to finish took 20 minutes! My kind of cooking :)

White Fish with Olives

Yes, I'm posting yet another recipe that my sister won't eat. I'm considered the picky eater in the family, oddly enough! Niki won't eat potatoes, sushi maki rolls (even the vegetarian ones), or fish. I refuse to eat certain flavor combinations and a lot of vegetables. And baby animals. And really spicy stuff. Okay, so maybe I'm pickier. Whatever!

I adapted this recipe from one that I found in a Real Simple magazine a few years ago. The original recipe was a bit too spicy (ahem), so I needed to tweak it a bit. Now for the part where I admit the way in which I screwed this recipe up the first time I made it: I used olives with pits still in them. Whoops! Kind of annoying, but not disastrous. So-- make sure you buy the pitted olives (the ones sold in the refrigerated section next to the fancy cheeses).

A few more notes: There's no need to use a lemon zester.... I didn't know we owned one, so I used a cheese grater, and I liked the zest that came from the grater better than the zest I got from the lemon zester when I made it the second time. This recipe serves 4 people, but make sure you have a substantial side dish and veggies to go with it. Go ahead and buy a dry white wine that you like because you will use barely any of it in this recipe.

Ingredients:

2 pounds white fish filets
3/4 cup dry white wine (like Sauvignon Blanc)
1/2 cup mixed olives (or kalamata olives)
Zest from one lemon
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place fish in small roasting pan (or a casserole dish). Add enough wine to reach halfway up the sides of the fish. Scatter the olives around the fish and the lemon zest on top of the fish. Drizzle with the olive oil and season with the peppers and salt.

Roast until fish is cooked through and flakes easily with a fork (about 20 minutes). Remove dish from oven and sprinkle with the parsley.

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When I made this recipe recently, our side dish was some insanely awesome foccacia bread I found in the bakery at Super Target. I highly recommend picking some up! Mmmmmm....