This week’s recipe is one that those of us familiar with Julia Child’s life have been waiting for: Filets of Sole Meuniere, Julia’s first-ever meal in France, from The Way to Cook. In My Life in France, Julia described the sole as “a morsel of perfection” and “the most exciting meal” of her life. It was this simple preparation of sole that inspired Julia’s 40-year love affair with food and the start of a cooking revolution in America.
It’s quite amazing I managed to make this and post about it this week – given I only received the recipe late Monday. It’s the final days of school, I am headed to Puebla today with the Mexico Tourism Board and then have two days once I get back before I leave for France for the summer. Plus, I am not much of a fish eater but I couldn’t NOT make this, Julia’s epiphany of a dish.
In actual fact, I used tilapia, not sole because that’s what was in the store where I was yesterday. With no time to shop around for sole, I took what I could get. I cut the tilapia fillets into small pieces and amidst my frenetic packing, cleaning and generally getting organised, I ate two of the smaller fillets for a quick dinner on a hot evening. It was perfect. Subtle. Simple. Tasty. So few ingredients. So easy. So good.
The dish that changed Julia Child's life. Excerpted from The Way to Cook by Julia Child. Copyright © 1989 by Julia Child. Reprinted with permission from the publisher Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, IncFillets of sole meunière
Ingredients
Instructions
Would I make this again? Absolutely. Even for a non-fish lover like myself, it was a hit. I *get* where Julia saw the excitement in this. Simple ingredients. Complex flavours. (and yes, Mr Neil, there are leftovers for your lunches!)
* Culinary icon Julia Child would have turned 100 years old on August 15th of this year. To honor her, the folks at YC Media and Random House/ Alfred A. Knopf are launching the JC100: an international campaign involving restaurants, chefs, bookstores, and bloggers, all celebrating Julia and her legacy. Their goal is to raise one million voices in tribute to Julia, and I am honoured to participate!
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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JuliaChild
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Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/knopfbooks/jc100/
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Huhu…Looks like delicious…hehheh
Thanks and it was!
It does look great Mardi.
Perhaps, given it was JC’s “epiphany” dish, soul meuniere was not too much of a stretch.
The pics do the dish justice.
Mr. Neil wants to know….was “soul” intentional, or Freudian? 😉
Mr Neil knows me well enough to know I’m a pedant… soul was intentional.
Of course it was!
Thank you so much!
They turned out so gorgeous! I’m completely jealous of your summer plans!! Have a blast 🙂
🙂 You can follow along vicariously!
Yum! I hope Puebla is an awesome trip, enjoy!
It was indeed!
Very elegant in its simplicity. The pan presentation is quite attractive and those lemons are just begging to be squeezed all over! Well done!
Thanks Viviane 🙂
Looks delicious! I have yet to post for JC100. Soon. I will do this in July I think.
Come on and join the fun!
Meuniere is delish and this fish looks wicked good!
Thanks!
Ohh I love that you made one of Julia Child’s dishes, this looks fantastic! 🙂
It was tasty!
Unless you really loathe something, then you only just haven’t found the right dish for it yet. It’s worth it to keep trying something in different combinations. I’ll bear this simple combination in mind, I’ve only tried something like this with far too much flour to fish so maybe I need to try again too! 🙂
Well I am not sure I “loathe” all fish but some, I do. This one is a winner!
Easy and delicious. Truly “the most exciting meal”, I think sole is the best fish ever. 🙂
🙂 Even for me!
I love how distinctly i hear Julia Child’s voice when I read “squashy” and “the parsley will bubble up nicely.” How cool is that? Have a fantastic time, Mardi. I wish I could stow away in your luggage.
I thought that too as I was writing it out!
I have actually tried this one before, and I love it! Not being much of a fish person myself, it is always a nice change to have a fish recipe that I really enjoy.
And, I have to say… Your photos of the dish look beautiful!
It’s a great recipe for non fish-loveers!