This simple recipe for Julia Child’s filet of sole pairs tender filet of sole with a lemony, butter sauce for the perfect seafood dinner.
Jump to:
Why we love this recipe
Welcome to the recipe I have decided is the most perfect seafood recipe of all time, and as the story has it, the one that Julia Child created after she had one of her first glorious dinners in France.
It’s the perfect easy elegant dinner, and here’s how it made its way to my kitchen!
One of the things the Southern husband and I actually love doing together is the weekly food shopping. (I know. But we do!).
I make up the menu for the week before we go, and each week the Southern husband gets to pick out one dinner that he is longing for me to make.
Some weeks he picks a throwback recipe that I have made before (last week he wanted this Irish Grilled Cheese sandwich), but if he’s asking for something new, he always makes a beeline for the seafood counter.
Usually he zooms in on the scallops or the red snapper, but one fateful weekend he picked out…filet of sole. And I drew a blank in terms of what to do with it.
I’d never made filet of sole before, and couldn’t remember having had it at a restaurant.
But that’s what he wanted, and he had this face on…
…so I bought some and off we went.
When I got it home I started searching for filet of sole recipe inspirations, and the same thing kept coming up, which is that Julia Child’s way of cooking sole was pretty much perfection.
So I hauled out my copy of The Way To Cook and after much paging around I found her recipe for Sole Meuniere, which is otherwise known as that perfect recipe of hers for filet of sole.
Ingredients you need to make this recipe
Ingredient notes and substitutions
- Filet of Sole: This can be tricky to find…you might get lucky at your grocery seafood counter, but your best bet is a seafood specialty store. And if you can’t find filet of sole you can substitute another mild white fish like cod or flounder.
- Capers: These salty little green buds are an explosion of savory flavor! You can find them in the condiments aisle of your super market.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities and nutritional information.
Here’s how you make this recipe
STEP 1: Start by sprinkling your beautiful fish with a little salt and pepper.
STEP 2: Dredge your filets in flour. I like to do this by putting the flour in a pie plate and ever so gently laying the fish in the flour, patting it on, and then turning it over.
STEP 3: Melt some butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Julia of course made clarified butter, but I just relied on my trusty Kerrygold. You pick the best butter you know for this special dish. Gently add your flour-ed up filets.
STEP 4: Cook the sole for two minutes per side. Flipping it over is the trickiest part because sole is so delicate – I use a super thin fish spatula, gently run it under the fish, say a tiny prayer and turn it over. Once it has cooked for two minutes on each side, place each filet on a dinner plate.
STEP 5: Now for the sauce! Add a little more butter to that same skillet, along with some fresh squeezed lemon juice and some chopped parsley. Whisk it all up until the butter is melted…Julia famously loved butter, and she was right. I always add a few capers because the Southern husband loves capers, and I love him…and that is it! Drizzle every drop of that sauce over your filets.
5 minutes of prep time, less than 10 minutes of cooking time and you have a gourmet seafood dinner on the table!
Recipe FAQs
A seafood store is your best best, although I have found it at the supermarket from time to time. And if you can’t hunt any down, you can sub in another light fish filet like red snapper, cod or flounder.
You can get as fancy as having a citrus juicer that squishes the juice out and leaves the seeds, or you can simply squeeze that lemon juice into a prep bowl with your hands.
This indispensable kitchen tool is a long, super thin type of spatula that is perfect for everything from flipping over delicate fish to taking cookies off a cookie sheet. I always have three of them on hand!
Pop the question in the comments below and I will answer pronto!
Want to round out your meal?
I absolutely love asparagus with this recipe, especially this recipe for kind of fancy asparagus with parmesan bread crumbs.
And since we are so far down the French food road, how about some mini chocolate croissants for dessert?
Other seafood recipes we love
So with heartfelt admiration for the brilliant Julia Child (and if you don’t have The Way To Cook, it’s a must-have for your cookbook collection). Bon Appetit!
Looking for more seafood inspiration? Here is our complete collection of seafood recipes!
Could you leave us a review?
If you try this recipe, we would love to hear how it came out for you! I’d be super grateful if you could leave a star rating (you pick how many stars!⭐️) and your thoughts in the Comments section below.
Julia Child’s Filet Of Sole
This simple recipe for Julia Child’s filet of sole pairs tender filet of sole with a lemony, butter sauce for the perfect seafood dinner.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: French
Ingredients
- 4 boneless sole filets
- Salt and pepper
- ½ cup flour
- 8 tablespoons butter
- Juice from ½ lemon (cut the rest of the lemon into slices for garnish)
- ½ cup fresh chopped parsley
- 2 tablespoons capers
Instructions
- Season the fish with salt and pepper on both sides.
- Put the flour on a plate or a pie pan and press each filet lightly into the flour on both sides.
- Put 4 tablespoons of the butter into a large skillet over medium high heat. When the butter is melted and foamy, add the filets and cook for 2 minutes.
- Using a fish spatula or other large spatula, carefully turn the filets over. Don’t use tongs – sole filets are delicate and need to be turned with a spatula. Cook for another 2 minutes and place each one on a serving plate. Cover with foil to keep warm while you make the sauce.
- Add the rest of the butter to the skillet, along with the lemon juice and half the parsley. Whisk until the butter is melted.
- Drizzle the sauce generously over the filets, sprinkle on the capers and the rest of the parsley, add the lemon slices as a pretty garnish and serve!
Notes
Capers: These are little pickled tender seeds that add a slightly tart punch. You can usually find them near the pickles or the condiments.
Fish Spatula: This is a super thin, long spatula that is one of my favorite kitchen tools! I use it for everything from brownies to, well, fish! Making this filet of sole recipe is a great reason to get one if you don’t have one already.
Skillet: You know I adore my cast iron one, but if you have a non-stick skillet this is the perfect time to use it. Filet of sole is delicate and anything that helps flip it more easily is a winner.
Piper says
Absolutely delicious! Seems fancy but so simple to make. Loved it!
This is the easiest fancy dish I know!
Susan Genereux says
Father in law loved this recipe 🙂
I am so glad to hear this – it’s so wonderful when people we love love our cooking! :)
Phyllis says
Can I use wondra flour?
Hi Phyllis and yes! Wondra makes a lovely light coating for this delicate fish. :)
J S says
This exactly how I would have cooked this delicate fish even if I didn’t run across this recipe. I followed it to the T and it was absolutely wonderful. I reccomend that everyone give it a try.You will not be disappointed.
Thank you so much! It’s definitely at the top of the seafood list at our house too. :)
Bob Francis says
Simple with pure fresh ingredients and was one of the best fish meals we’ve ever had.
Oh my gosh Bob, you made my day! Glad you love this recipe as much as we do. :)
Jerry Kruse says
Fabulous recipe. Perfect, detailed instructions. Great sauce. Easy . We had two bottles of wine, Novellum Chardonnay from Roussillon (France) and Clos Henri Sauvignon Blanc (New Zealand). Perfect match for both.
Jerry, thank you so much! And for the wine suggestions – always love to have those. :)
Evelyn Root says
Loved it!! I substituted a couple Tbsp. dried tarragon instead of parsley, and sprinkled paprika on them along with the salt/pepper
Thanks Evelyn! This is my favorite fancy dinner, and your variations sound delicious!
Evelyn Root says
I had leftovers and reheated them 2 days later, wrappd loosely in foil at 350 for about 15 min. Tasted as good if not better than the day I made it. Yummy!
Sounds like the perfect leftover meal! :)
Bruce Bursey says
Best way to eat fresh filet of sole! Thanks for this. I had to add garlic and shallots to the butter, but otherwise perfect recipe. So delicious!
Love your additions, Bruce! Happy New Year!
Andrew Rasmusen says
Lovely recipe! I adore creamy flavors like butter and bacon and a heavily marbled ribeye, and for me, the first four tablespoons of butter in this dish were plenty if not more than enough. I also love capers and thought there were a bit too many. Maybe my dover sole filets were on the small side? You should make this ASAP and use your cook’s eye to adjust along the way. Incredible flavor that calls out for crusty bread and so easy to prepare. Thanks!
I’m so glad you liked it (and thank you for the adjustment advice!) :)
Sarah Kuhn says
Cooking Sole for tomorrow’s dinner. Love that the puppy is a Clemson Fan! My blood runneth Orange!
Sole Meunière is my husband’s favorite but I have never tried before at home as always presented to be deboned at the table in 5 Star restaurants.
Recently our fish market has been having fresh Sole Filets so now I think I can give it a try.
Thanks for the great looking recipe, will let you know how it turns out.
Well hey there, fellow Clemson fan! I hope you love this one as much as we do – it is so elegant and so easy! :)
maria george says
The recipe looks good but you don’t explain what we do with the flour?
Hi Maria! You dredge the filets in the flour. Hope you love this as much as we do! :)
Roger Wagner says
Total WINNER dinner with fresh caught gray sole (witch flounder). Only mod was that I used less butter and some olive oil.
Hi Roger and hurray!! So glad you love this one as much as we do. :) :)
Rita Steinkamp says
I love following recipes. even though Julia Childs filet of sole seems fast, simple and easy, why can’t you just formulate a real recipe ie: how much butter,
Lemon juice etc?
Hi Rita! The amounts are in the recipe card at the end of the post – let me know if there’s something I can help you with? Happy cooking! :)
Rita steinkamp says
Thank you!
Terry Mashburn says
I didn’t know I could cook “French cuisine” that my very American husband would eat. *wink* This was fabulous- and I will be making it again soon. I served it atop rice pilaf (so I could use every drop of the delicious sauce) with a side of broccolini.
Terry! You are definitely now a French chef – what a lucky husband you have! :)
Terry Mashburn says
Is the flour for dredging the fish prior to cooking, or is it to thicken the sauce after adding the remaining butter?
Hi Terry and thanks for spotting this – it’s for dredging! I’ve added that to the recipe – happy cooking!
Bill Palmer says
Half the parsley in the sauce… does the rest go on top?
Yes! Thank you for catching that – I added it in. :)
Terry Mashburn says
Thanks for answering so quickly! I hope to make this tomorrow night.
Of course! Hope you love it as much as we do! :)