Sole with Butter Bean and Chorizo Hotpot

I love the silky, buttery texture of these cooked beans and it wasn't until we got here that we really discovered them. Further, pairing them with Spanish-style chorizo is an AMAZING combination that we revisit frequently. The sole was a bit tricky to deal with in that the fillets are quite flat, and yield little actual meat after you skin it. This is a very delicate fish and skinning it can be tricky, in that it wants to fall apart. To be honest, you could probably get away with chunks of fish in the hotpot and it would taste just as well. This recipe appears in the cookbook 'One Perfect Ingredient' by Marcus Wareing, head chef of the two Michelin-starred Petrus in London.

400 g lemon sole, fillets, skinned, cut lengthwise in half
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely sliced
2 garlic, peeled and crushed
150 g chorizo picante, Spanish-style
1 tsp. paprika, smoked (or 'pimenton' if you can get)
500 ml chicken stock
1 can butter beans, drained and rinsed
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper

Roll up the sole fillets with the skin side facing in, and secure with a toothpick. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a flameproof casserole or deep saute pan and soften the onion and garlic over low to medium low heat. Meanwhile, remove the skin from the chorizo; thinly slice one-third of it and chop the rest. Set aside.

Sprinkle paprika and seasoning into the pan, then add the chopped chorizo, stirring for 5 minutes. (NOTE: Chorizo can be quite salty, so be careful about how much salt you're adding right now. See how the dish taste toward the end and determine how much you need to add to finish the dish) Pour in the stock and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low or low and simmer gently for 10 minutes.

Stir in the butter beans. Place the sole rolls on top and spoon some hot stck over the top. Cover the pan tightly and simmer for 8-10 minutes to cook the fish. Meanwhile, pan-fry the reserved chorizo slices in a bit of oil until crisp, then drain on paper towels.

Lift out the sole and remove the cocktail sticks. Stir the broth and taste for seasoning. Serve the bean hotpot topped with the sole and garnished with the chorizo slices.