North German Sole Fillets: Seezungenfilets Büsumer Art

Büsum is a city of about 5000 on the North Sea coast of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. In more modern times, while standard German, Hochdeutsch, is the common language, the local language dating back to ancient times in this area is Low German.

 

Sole is a general name for certain related types of flatfish the world over, with some types especially common in the North Sea area of Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and the British Isles; and indeed, the type often caught in the shallow waters around Britain is  called "Dover sole," although Dover sole is also caught in parts of the Mediterranean and in the Bay of Biscay. The thing to remember is, all types of sole are flatfish, but not all flatfish are sole. When I was much younger, 'fillet (also 'filet') of sole' was a common dish of sole in a lemony butter and caper sauce. Fish and seafood are often pretty expensive, and such is the case with sole. If you can't find sole, you can use flounder, cod or snapper, and they are pretty good substitutes, but they ARE substitutes, not exactly like sole, although they are very similar in taste (mild), but not always in texture (sole is rather firm and flaky). In German the sole flatfish is called "Seezunge," literally "sea tongue," and yes, "See" and "Zunge" are close relatives of English "sea" and "tongue." As far as I know, North Sea brown shrimp are pretty much exclusive to Europe; at least in terms of easy availability and price. In Germany, these small brown shrimps are called "Krabben," which is the standard German word for "crabs" (singular: Krabbe), and the close relative of English "crab/crabs." You can easily substitute small cocktail shrimp (they're already shelled, cleaned and cooked; all they need is to be heated through) or you can cut medium or large shrimp into halves or thirds.  

 

Ingredients (4 servings):

 

1 1/2 pounds of sole fillets

6 tablespoons butter, divided use (more, if needed)

1/4 cup dry white wine

1/3 cup finely chopped onion (best to use white onion, but I used red, as can be seen in the photos)

1/4 cup flour

1 1/2 cups seafood stock

1/2 pound small shrimp (1 to 2 inches long, or 3 to 4 inch shrimp halved)

1/2 cup milk (I use evaporated canned milk)

1 tablespoon brandy

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

 

In a skillet, melt 3 tablespoons of butter over low heat, add the wine and finely chopped onion; cook for about 3 to 4 minutes, then add the fish fillets and cook until done (add more butter, a tablespoon at a time, if needed, and this is in addition to the amount I have in the ingredients above). Remove the fish to a plate/platter until you make the sauce (this is where the firmer texture of sole can help keep the fillets from breaking apart). Add remaining 3 tablespoons butter to the skillet (still over low heat), then add the flour and stir it into the butter, letting it cook about 90 seconds to take out the raw flour taste, but don't let it brown! Slowly add the seafood stock, stirring constantly to incorporate the flour mixture and begin to thicken the liquid. Bring to a simmer and let cook until thickened and smooth, then stir in the milk, followed by the brandy, stir well to mix it in. Add the shrimp and mix them into the sauce so that they heat up, which doesn't take long (keep the heat low or very low, do not boil!). Add the sole fillets to the sauce to reheat them. Serve the sole fillets topped with sauce and shrimp, and finished with some chopped parsley.  

 

I forgot to add the parsley to these ...

WORD HISTORY:

Sole-This is the noun, although English also has an adjective, meaning "one, single, alone," which is NOT related to the noun. The ultimate origin of "sole" is uncertain, but it is related to "soil," a word that is a merger of two different Latin words, one of which makes "soil" partially related to "sole." "Sole" goes back to the Latin noun "solum," which meant "ground, base, foundation, bottom." This gave the basis for the Latin noun "solea," meaning, "bottom of a shoe, a sandal (a flat type of footwear)," and from the sandal meaning came the meaning, "a type of flatfish." "Solea" came to be rendered as "sola," and Latin-based Old French had it as "sole," which seemingly was borrowed by English not long after the Normans arrived (as it is in late Old English), but only with the "sandal, bottom of the foot" meanings. The fish name was borrowed from French in the middle of the 1200s, and the meaning "bottom of a shoe or other footwear" began to be used in the latter part of the 1300s. English cousin, German, has "Sohle," which "seems" to have been borrowed by Old High German directly from Latin (in the 800s?). Low German has "Sahl."