Lemon Sole Fillet with Maple, Sage, Cranberry and Almond Stuffing

• 4 lemon sole fillets
• 1 knob of unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp of olive oil
• 8 sage leaves
• Sea salt

For the stuffing:

• 2 onions, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 20g unsalted butter
• 300g sausage meat
• 2 eggs
• 1 lemon, zested
• 3 tsp sage, chopped
• 50g dried cranberries
• 30g almonds, toasted
• 3 tbsp of breadcrumbs
• Sea salt and pepper

For the Orange and thyme dressing:

• 250g unsalted butter
• 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 1 orange, zested
• 100ml of red wine
• 50ml of port (optional)
• 50ml of red wine vinegar
• 2 shallots, finely chopped
• 1 pinch of sugar
• 100ml pure maple syrup
• 100g cranberries
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 sprigs of fresh thyme, chopped
• Sea salt and pepper

1. For stuffing, cook the onions and garlic in butter until softened. Allow to cool and mix into the sausage meat.
2. Add the egg, lemon zest, sage, cranberries, almonds and breadcrumbs.
3. Adjust seasoning accordingly and chill until needed.
4. To prepare the lemon sole, trim the skin, cling film and bat out with a large knife. Lay each fillet down on a chopping board.
5. Lay each piece of sole onto a piece of fresh cling film long enough to tie at each end. Place stuffing on top and place another fillet on top. Wrap the fish tightly and knot the ends. Chill in fridge.

For the dressing

1. Heat the butter, garlic and thyme together until the butter starts to brown. Remove from the heat, add the orange zest and leave the butter to cool and separate.
2. In a separate pan, reduce the wine, port, vinegar, shallots, sugar and maple syrup until the mixture is syrupy. Mix the syrup and butter together and add cranberries, chopped garlic, thyme.
3. Bring back to a simmer for a minute to soften the cranberries. Season with salt and pepper.
4. To cook the fish, bring a large pan of water to simmer. Place the fish, still in its cling film casing, into the water and simmer for 15 mins. Remove from water and rest for 5 mins.
5. Finish with a knob of butter and a few sage leaves. Remove from the pan and drain off any excess butter. Add the juices from the fish to the dressing.
6. To plate, pan fry excess stuffing mix until crispy and finish with warm dressing.