Butter Sauteed Petrale Sole with Roasted Root Vegetables & HAPPY NEW YEAR!

     Yesterday..................(apologies to John Lennon)..............;-)> when we were at the local market, we encountered some beautiful Petrale Sole. Petrale is a small flat flounder-like fish that is prevalent off the California coast. It is very mild but tasty and has become one of Anita's favorite sea foods. It was also a favorite of my grandmother, Grace Jones Morgan, with whom I lived for awhile when I was in my youth. In any event, these were prime examples of the fish and very fresh so we decided to make a meal around them.
     I had been yearning for roasted root vegetables, so with a little imagination, we decided that we could combine them into a tasty winter meal if we sauteed the Petrale in butter and roasted the veggies with Rosemary. Sounded good and in fact it was delicious.

Serves:                                         2
Prep Time:                                  20 minutes or so
Cooking Time:
             Roasted Vegetables     30 to 40 minutes depending on mix and size of pieces
             Sauteed Fish                   6 minutes or so

INGREDIENTS
3/4 pound of fresh Petrale sole
2 yellow beets cut to 1/2 inch thick pieces
4 to 6 baby whole carrots, topped and scrubbed
1 or 2 parsnips, skinned and sliced about 1/2 inch thick
10 to 12 Brussels sprouts with bottoms cut off
1/2 dozen whole garlic cloves, skinned
some extra virgin olive oil spray if possible
2 to 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter
some Rosemary branches,about 5 inches long
1 lemon, quartered

PREPARATION
     The Petrale
          1. Pepper one side with fresh coarse                     ground black pepper.
          2. Sprinkle the other side with granulated             garlic to taste.
          3. Melt the butter in a 12 inch saute pan               over medium-high heat.
          4. Saute the fish on one side for 2 to 3                   minutes.
          5. Flip fish and saute on other side for                   same or until cooked to your liking.
          6. Reserve in 150 to 200 * Fahrenheit oven           with warming serving plates if necessary.
          7. Keep the butter warm in the pan to spoon on the vegetables at serving.

The Roasted Root Vegetables
     1. Place a baking sheet in a baking pan.
     2. Top the carrots, scrub and place on the pan.
     3. Wash and cut the bottoms off of the                  Brussels sprouts and place on the pan.
     4. Peel and cut the parsnips in to 1/2 inch              slices.
     5. Peel and cut the yellow beets into 1/2 inch        thick slices and place on the pan.
     6. Peel the garlic cloves and spread around          among the vegis.
     7. Wash the Rosemary, dry and spread around       the pan.
8. Cook the vegetables in a 400* Fahrenheit oven for 30 minutes or until the yellow beets are soft enough to eat. We have found that 30 minutes cooks everything else perfectly and the beets are under-done; but we like them that way. If you want the beets more tender, simply slice them into thinner pieces and they will cook faster.

PLATING:
Basically one just places the Petrale on the plate with the vegetables. Then spoon a little of the cooking butter over the veggies, garnish with lemon wedges and serve.

Bon appetit and Happy New Year,
Tom and Anita