Skip to main content
Main

Sole, Baked with Shrimps

Baked sole fillet filled with shrimp and breadcrumb mixture, topped with brown breadcrumbs.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 ingredients
Jump to recipe ↓

Why it works: Anchovy and sauce are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,057 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓

Sole, Baked with Shrimps

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare the fish

  1. Remove the skin from the sole and make an incision down the center as for filleting.

  2. Gently lift the flesh on each side.

Make the stuffing

  1. Chop the shrimps coarsely and mix with breadcrumbs, cayenne, salt, anchovy essence, egg, and enough white sauce or milk to moisten.

  2. Press the mixture lightly inside the fish, filling the gap without closing the sides.

Top and bake

  1. Flatten the surface to level with the fish, brush with the remaining egg, and sprinkle with brown breadcrumbs.

  2. Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) for about 20 minutes.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Anchovy + saucetop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,057 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  2. Shrimp + anchovytop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together440 recipes

    Shared aroma: hexanol (green, fruity).

  3. Shrimp + buttertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,931 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).

  4. Anchovy + eggtop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,330 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  5. Anchovy + buttertop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,697 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Sole
Forms the main body that holds the stuffing while it bakes.
Shrimps
Provide the savoury filling and a tender, moist texture when cooked.
Egg
Binds the stuffing together and helps the topping set and brown.
White breadcrumbs
Absorb moisture from the white sauce or milk, giving the filling body.
White sauce or milk
Moistens the filling so it stays soft rather than dry during baking.

The step that matters

Press the stuffing lightly inside the fish. Packing it too firmly can squeeze out moisture and make the filling dense, while leaving gaps lets it dry out or fall apart. Filling the cavity without closing the sides lets heat reach the stuffing evenly.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

You might also like

Tomato SoupTomato Soup526 recipesBrown BreadBrown Bread461 recipesMutton BrothMutton Broth292 recipesYorkshire PuddingYorkshire Pudding264 recipes