Springtime Sole with Asparagus

Need a speedy, healthy supper that’s great in springtime? Try this out – I created this over the weekend and thought that the fresh flavors of asparagus, orange, and scallion worked well with the delicacy of the sole.  I especially loved that it only took 15 minutes start to finish!

You’ll need:

• Enough sole for the people you’re feeding (in my case, two people, and I was given a healthy 3/4 pound filet at the fish counter) – the filet was approximately 1/2 inch thick
• Enough asparagus spears for the people you’re feeding (in my case, enough for three, since the third portion went into my lunch the next day)
• One orange
• The white and light green parts of a few scallions, cut into thin discs
• Sea salt, ground pepper, and olive oil

Preheat your broiler to 500 degrees F and line a rimmed baking sheet with foil (to make cleaning up easier).  Rinse and dry the asparagus and cut the spears into 1.5″ long pieces, or to the desired length.  Place them on the foiled sheet and sprinkle over the cut scallions, and enough salt and pepper to taste.  Grate over the asparagus approximately one-third of the zest of the orange.  Pour over a couple tablespoons of olive oil and mix thoroughly with your hands to combine.  Arrange the spears on the sheet so as to leave room for the fish.

Rinse and pat the fish dry.  Arrange it on the center of the baking sheet, and brush on a small amount of olive oil.  Sprinkle over the fish enough salt and pepper to taste, as well as the grated zest of another third of the orange.

Place the sheet in the upper third of your oven and broil it for approximately 5-6 minutes, watching carefully.  The fish is done when the entire top of the filet is opaque; it will also be golden brown in spots.  (NB: A thicker filet may need an additional minute or two).  When the fish is cooked through, remove the sheet from the oven and squeeze over the fish and asparagus the juice of half of the orange.  Toss the asparagus to coat and serve immediately.

Although I didn’t have one handy, I think a nice crusty baguette would’ve been great to eat alongside, to soak up all the great juices……enjoy!

PS: Behind the scenes……still knitting, like always, and *GASP* even a couple crochet projects!