Sole rolls

uncooked but already rolled around filling, sole rolls

I am fussy about which fish I will eat.  I love salmon, tuna (other than tunafish salad, a staple since childhood) is drier so only certain types, and then there is sole.  I’ve been making my sole rolls for many a long year and they are always a hit.  When the kids were young, I shamefully admit I took a shortcut and used the instant mashed potatoes for the filling.  Then Yechiel, my SIL, made them once with fresh mashed potatoes and that was the end of the instant.  They are a completely different (yes, I have to say it) kettle of fish 😄.   They take a bit of work but not so much as to make you debate the wisdom of making them.  I promise, once you’ve tried them, they will become a regular feature on your menu.

They are an elegant looking course.  If you serve one, it’s an appetizer and if two (or more) it’s a main.  They are also good for Pesach (yay) so you can make them for Shabbat, Chagim and during the week for a fancy dinner.

My new twist on the recipe happened when I had a bunch of sweet potatoes and almost no potatoes left.  I cooked up both and mashed them together for an even prettier and tasty look.

sweet potato/potato  filling

Sole Rolls with Potato and/or Sweet Potato Filling

1 package (approximately 7-10 fillets) of sole

3-4 (depending on the size) potatoes or a mix of sweet and regular potatoes

1/3 cup ketchup

1/2 cup mayonnaise (I prefer Hellman’s, though Heinz or Thomy are also good)

1 -2  heaping tablespoons of msg free onion soup powder (I like Osem’s)

Peel potatoes and/or sweet potatoes and cut into big chunks.  Put in pot of salted water and boil till soft.  Drain and mash till fairly smooth, I like a bit of chunkiness.  Set aside till cool enough to handle.  In the meantime, take the defrosted sole and lay them out on a cutting board or piece of parchment paper and take out an ovenproof pan big enough to hold the rolls.  Take the cooled mashed potatoes and assembly line style, take a heaping tablespoon put on lower part of fish (I turn the fish shiny side up and roll that side around filling, it both keeps the roll sticking together so no need for toothpicks and looks prettier that way) and carefully roll the fish around the filling.  It’s worth laying the fish out all together so that you can evenly distribute your filling amongst all the fillets.

Next, take a bowl and mix together the ketchup, mayo and onion soup powder.  Stir briskly till smoothly combined.  Put the rolls on parchment paper into your pan and spoon the sauce over the rolls evenly.  Sometimes I have extra potato filling and what you can do is either leave it as balls on the side of the fish, or I mix it into the sauce which adds to the creaminess of the filling.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or till orangey Brown.

This makes a really lovely first course or main course if you serve two rolls together.  Nice with a side of cooked fine string beans and cauliflower.