~Friday Night Frenzy~ Baked Sole, Roasted Veggies and Lentil Pilaf

Do you sometimes wait for that phone call to say, “I’m 15 minutes away” to make sure dinner will be ready to serve for when the whole family is home? I grew up like this. We ate together as a family each night, and still aim to have at least one family dinner meal bringing everyone together. Sometimes this can be difficult with “hangry” kids, or bed times that may be earlier than when the last person gets home, so we adjust when we need to and when we can. This is one of those dinners that you can prep, and when you get that call, pop it all into the oven to finish cooking off! It was one of those Friday night eats for me and my family, where I knew I have to disconnect from the rest of the world and cook!  I hope you can enjoy it just as much with yours too!

Serves: 4

Ingredients

Lentil Pilaf*

• 1 Cup Dried lentils, rinsed
• 2 Tbsp Avocado or Flaxseed oil
• 3 Carrots, chopped
• ½ Fennel, chopped
• ½ Red onion, chopped
• 1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
• ½ Orange, juice of
• 2 Tbsp White wine
• Salt and Pepper
• 2 Tbsp Chopped Dried Cherries
• 4 Tbsp Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Baked Wild Filet of Sole

• 4 Wild Sole Filets
• 4 Tbsp Butter, divided
• 2 Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
• 2 Cloves Garlic, minced
• 1/2 Lemon, juice from
• Fresh Cracked Pepper
• 2 Tbsp Capers
• 3 Tbsp Finely chopped Fresh Parsley

Roasted Vegetables

• 1 bunch Asparagus, trimmed and rinsed
• 3 Yellow Zucchini, sliced
• 2 Tbsp Avocado or Flaxseed oil
• 1/2 Lemon, juice from
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

To prepare the Lentil Pilaf

1. Cook the lentils.  Place lentils in a pot and cover the lentils with water and slightly more. Bring to a boil. Once at a boil, reduce and allow to simmer for 20-30 minutes until cooked through but not mushy.
2. Meanwhile, chop and prepare the remaining lentil pilaf ingredients.
3. Heat the oil in a large saucepan or wok over medium-high heat. Add the carrots, fennel and onion and allow to cook through until translucent, about 4-7 minutes. Reduce heat until lentils finish cooking, or, if lentils have finished cooking, drain and rinse, adding them to the vegetable base.
4. Add the apple cider vinegar, juice from ½ of an orange, white wine and salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low to allow the pilaf to stay warm and the flavours to blend.
5. Once you put the fish and vegetables in the oven (see below), add the dried cherries and pumpkin seeds until ready to serve.

To prepare the Baked Wild Sole

1. Rinse the pieces of sole and allow to dry on paper towel.
2. In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, melt 2 Tbsp of butter and the olive oil. Add in the minced garlic and allow to combine to form a garlic marinade.  Add the juice from 1/2 of a lemon and stir to combine.  Remove from heat.
3. Place the remaining 2 Tbsp of melted butter in a baking dish. Place the pieces of sole overtop the butter and then top with the garlic marinade, spreading evenly on each piece of sole.
4. Sprinkle with capers and fresh parsley and cover with foil paper.
5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. When “the call” comes – place wild sole and roasted vegetables (See below) in the oven for 16-20 minutes.

To prepare the Roasted Vegetables

1. Place the washed asparagus and yellow zucchini on a foil-lined baking sheet. Drizzle with oil, juice from 1/2 of a lemon, salt and pepper and mix with hands to allow ingredients to coat.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit . When “the call” comes – place wild sole and roasted vegetables (See above) in the oven for 16-20 minutes, tossing the vegetables once in between.

Serve the wild sole with sliced lemon, roasted vegetables, the lentil pilaf, and a slice of toasted Artisan bread and of course, a glass of White Wine!

*The left-over lentil pilaf was a fabulous cold salad the next day, or even added into a vegetable broth for a wonderful twist to soup!