Sole Fillet Rolls Stuffed with Herbs

For quite a long time I had a very small-minded opinion of Greek cuisine, not having a clue about how much that region had to offer. Back in my early twenties, I thought Jeffrey Steingarten said it best when he quipped in The Man Who Ate Everything:

Typical of modern-day Greek cuisine are feta cheese and retsina wine. Any country that pickles its national cheese in brine and adulterates its national wine with pine pitch should order dinner at the local Chinese place and save its energies for other things.

Sheesh.

With great relief, I can say that my beliefs have evolved over the last fifteen or so years.

Phew.

Although it's probably a little early for me to have a definitive opinion on the 700-plus page Greek Joy of Cooking, Vefa's Kitchen, I think it's safe to say that it will dramatically help me continue to expand my knowledge and appreciation of Greek food.

Vefa's Kitchen has put something of a spell on me. Every time I open the book randomly, I find something new I want to whip up. It's as if I've been granted entry into a foreign land. The recipes are for dishes that I've never prepared before, that I haven't conceived of at all. And thankfully, so many of them seem completely realistic for my life at this time. The glossy pages feel good to my fingertips. The photographs are gorgeous and there are lots of them, which I really appreciate in a cookbook.

Fish was what I had in mind, and while I was tempted by many of the salt cod preparations, I didn't want to wait the extra day or two (required for soaking) for dinner. I selected a recipe, Sole Fillet Rolls Stuffed with Herbs, that was perfectly suited to satisfy two of my strong desires -- one for fish, the other for greens.

This sole recipe is an elegant preparation. Rolling up sole around a savory herb and onion mixture makes so much sense. I can't believe that I've never rolled sole before! It's so easy to manipulate before it is cooked. The contrast of colors between the white flesh, emerald green spinach (or sorrel) and brilliant red tomatoes is stunning.

Onion (try finely chopping, instead of grating), garlic and scallions are cooked until translucent in olive oil. The half cup of parsley and half cup of mint that are then added give the dish a remarkably fresh and healthy flavor. A good portion of this mix is used to stuff the sole. The rest is folded into the blanched spinach.

I opted for spinach because it was the easiest to come buy in great quantity, but the recipe first suggests sorrel. The sorrel would probably have lent the lemony note that I felt the dish was missing. If you use spinach, my recommendation would be to add lemon at some point, either during the cooking process or at least at the end, to finish the dish. You'll want a little brightness and acid.

I dig the hint of spice that comes from the nutmeg that is sprinkled on the fish. The recipe calls for ground, but I preferred grating my own.

Rolling up the fish is a cinch. The rolls are placed on the bed of greens and topped with a slice of tomato. Those red slices bathe each roll in sweet juices during the cooking -- another very good idea.

The remaining olive oil is then drizzled over the fish. Here, I might suggest one other small change. You're asked to pour a half cup, minus two tablespoons, over the dish. That seems excessive to me. I'd go just shy of a third of a cup or perhaps even a little less.

Psst. I also didn't brush my baking dish with oil. Depending on your ovenware, you probably can skip this step.

The sole cooks for approximately twenty minutes in a 400 degree oven. You could serve it alone, but I opted for a little mound of basmati rice to soak up the herbaceous juices. Delicious! I felt quite proud to be serving such a beautiful meal.

If you're not going to eat it all in one sitting, I'd recommend halving the recipe. The sole does not reheat well, which I knew would be the case and foolishly ignored. While I loved the meal the first night, I did not at all the second time around.

Sole Fillet Rolls Stuffed With Herbs

1/2 cup olive oil, plus extra for brushing

8 sole fillets, 3 1/4 lb total weight, skinned

Salt and pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 onion grated

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

3 scallions, thinly sliced

1/2 cup finely chopped fresh mint

1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley

1 pound 2 ounces sorrel leaves or spinach, coarse stalks removed

2 small tomatoes, sliced

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and brush an ovenproof dish with oil. Season the fish fillets with salt and pepper and sprinkle with the nutmeg. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a pan. Add the onion, garlic, and scallions and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, until softened. Stir in the mint and parsley, season with salt and pepper, and remove from the heat. Briefly blanch the sorrel or spinach in boiling water and drain. Spread 1-2 tablespoons of the onion and herb mixture over each fish fillet and roll it up. Mix the remaining onion and herb mixture with the sorrel and spread out over the base of the prepared dish. Put the sole rolls on top. Place a tomato slice on top of each roll. Season with a little salt and pepper and drizzle the remaining oil all over the fish. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the vegetables and fish are tender.

Serves 4

Eggplant, Tomato, and Onion Gratin

I have a funny relationship with eggplants.

I love their gorgeous purple sheen. I think they can taste rather delicious. Weirdly, in college, I used to run off at the mouth about how they have no nutritional value (Remember that, Dad?!). Wherever did I get that idea?

The problem is that more often than not, when I buy an eggplant (heck! even when I grow an eggplant), it sits around on the counter or in the refrigerator for an awfully long time -- not the best way to treat the lovely vegetable.

I'm at a loss as to what to do with them. Yes, I love baba ganoush and grilled eggplant and it's true that ratatouille can be really quite satisfying.

I suppose that I just lack real inspiration in the eggplant department.

So I turn to friends like Alice Waters for help. In the vegetable arena, Waters has yet to let me down. I've mentioned her fantastic work, Chez Panisse Vegetables, previously.

I'd almost certainly be lost without her. Chez Panisse Vegetables is organized alphabetically by vegetable, making it exceedingly reader-friendly. And during this season of abundance, when we are bringing home vegetables by the truck-load, it is very comforting to have Waters by our side.

So with an eggplant waiting impatiently in the crisper, I optimistically turned to E. And right there I found the perfect dish to take advantage of my lonely eggplant and bounty of tomatoes from the garden -- Eggplant, Tomato and Onion Gratin.

To my mind, Waters is using the term gratin very loosely. There are no bread crumbs or cheese in sight. Perhaps the cookware you use, alone, is enough to support the name.

In any event, the dish is quite delicious in a pure and honest way. There are few other ingredients beyond the tomato, eggplant, and onions. No intense sauces or oily cheeses are masking the flavors of the vegetables here.

Because this gratin is so simple and the flavor is entirely dependent on the quality of the ingredients, choose your produce wisely! Utterly ripe tomatoes and firm glossy eggplants are imperative.

The recipe calls for Japanese eggplants, but I'll confess to using a regular old globe eggplant from the farmer's market and a bit of a beautiful white eggplant from the C.S.A. These proved more than adequate. I plucked the reddest, heftiest tomatoes right off the vine and a few bushy sprigs of thyme out of the flowerpot just before preparing dinner.

This is summertime cooking!

Waters suggests serving this with grilled or roasted lamb. As terrific, was pairing it with couscous with toasted almonds, raisins and green onions and superb merguez sausage from McCall's Meat and Fish Company in Los Feliz.

What was left, perfectly fed little Fe's ever expanding palate. It also satisfied us mightily the next evening served over penne with grated parmesan and chopped basil strewn about. It proved an excellent vegetarian supper.

Eggplant, Tomato, and Onion Gratin

3 large, sweet white onions

3 cloves garlic

2 to 3 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil

2 or 3 sprigs thyme

1 bay leaf

Salt and pepper

3 medium Japanese eggplants

3 ripe tomatoes

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Peel the onions and garlic and give them a fine chop. Cook them, along with the thyme leaves, the bay leaf, and salt and pepper in the butter and half the olive oil in a medium sized pot over a medium flame, covered for about 5 minutes, until soft.

Cut the eggplants into 1/4-inch thick slices. Cut the tomatoes into slightly thicker slices.

Butter a gratin dish.

Pluck the bay leaf out of the onion mixture, and cover the bottom of the gratin dish with the onions. Cover them with rows of overlapping and alternating tomato and eggplant rounds. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil, cover with foil and cook in the oven until the eggplant is soft, about 45 minutes. Remove the foil for the last 15 minutes or sooner if the tomatoes are giving up too much liquid. Spoon the juices over the top from time to time during the cooking, so the top does not dry out.

The gratin should be moist but not at all watery.

Serves 6