Roast Dover sole with roast asparagus, thyme, lemon and butter

Dover sole is one of the finest fish to roast whole, delicate, sweet and beautifully tender when cooked simply. If you can, look for fish landed locally and caught by day boats. Brill or lemon sole would make good alternatives here too. Roasting the fish alongside asparagus with butter, thyme and lemon gives you a simple spring or early summer supper that feels generous without needing much fuss.

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 Dover sole, about 500g - 750g in total, cleaned and trimmed
12 fresh asparagus spears
20g soft butter
A small bunch of thyme, about half the leaves picked
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
2 small cloves garlic, grated
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Pre-fire your wood oven or preheat a conventional oven to 220°C fan or 240°C conventional.

Combine the butter with the thyme leaves, lemon zest, grated garlic and a little salt and pepper.

Rub a third of the butter over the base of a large baking tray. Place the sole in the middle of the tray. Rub the remaining butter over the fish and season lightly. Scatter the asparagus around the fish and scatter over the remaining thyme. Season everything with salt and pepper.

Place the tray in the oven and cook, turning the asparagus once or twice, for 12 - 15 minutes, or until the fish flesh just comes away from the bone.

Remove from the oven and finish with a squeeze of lemon juice. Serve at once with new potatoes and a green salad.

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