No-fuss fish from Giada De Laurentiis
Giada De Laurentiis’ new cookbook, “Giada’s Italy” (Clarkson Potter, $35), tells the story of the author’s month spent in Rome with her daughter and mother. De Laurentiis, a Food Network TV star and author of eight best-selling cookbooks, told me this book is probably her most personal yet.
“The book tells a story,” she said in a telephone interview from her home in Los Angeles. “It’s almost like a reality show in that the photographer came with us and she followed us. Looking back at some of the photos, they aren’t perfectly posed or choreographed; they are less staged — a photo with me eating pizza, a photo at a coffee shop.
“It was a chance for me to reconnect with Rome. I was born in Rome but moved here when I was 8. My mother moved back after my brother passed away six or seven years ago. It was fun to see our extended family.”
We chatted about one of the recipes in the book, lemon sole oreganata, a recipe chosen for its simplicity and deliciousness. She said many home cooks are extremely intimidated about cooking fish, and this dish is a no-brainer, suitable for a weeknight recipe arsenal.
Other varieties of mild while fish can be substituted.
Lemon sole oreganata
Yield: 4 servings
INGREDIENTS
¾ cup breadcrumbs 1½ teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
½ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided use
4 lemon sole fillets, about 8 ounces each 1 teaspoon kosher salt 2/3 cup dry white wine ¼ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, coarsely chopped
For serving: lemon wedges
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Position oven rack to top third of oven. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. In medium bowl, whisk breadcrumbs, oregano, zest, cheese and 3 tablespoons oil. Mixture should resemble wet sand. Set aside.
3. Brush remaining 1 tablespoon oil over bottom of rimmed baking sheet. Place sole fillets in single layer on sheet and season with salt. Sprinkle bread-crumb topping evenly over each fillet and pat gently to adhere. Pour wine around fish. Bake 10 minutes, or until barely cooked. Remove sheet from oven.
4. Turn on broiler to high. Place baking sheet under broiler for an additional 1-2 minutes, or until breadcrumbs are nicely toasted and golden brown, and the fish is cooked through. Using a wide spatula, transfer fillets to dinner plates, sprinkle with parsley and drizzle with any pan juices that remain. Serve with lemon wedges to squeeze over top.