All aboard! Pack your bags and be transported back to the heyday of railroad travel in St. Louis — the gateway to the West and a destination that nods to history and shines with modern innovation.

A St. Louis icon since 1894, St. Louis Union Station Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton is a local landmark that continues to reinvent itself while still retaining the essence of its past. Formerly one of the largest and busiest passenger rail terminals, the historic building is now a place where guests can relax and find comfort in their stay.

Reinvention is also a favorite pastime of Russel Cunningham, executive chef at the hotel’s Station Grille. With a culinary career spanning multiple cities and various dining outlets — from fine dining and hotels to country clubs and more — Cunningham enjoys taking classic recipes and rethinking the ingredients and techniques to add a modern twist.

Enter Dover sole with butter sauce. Fresh, simple, classic. Says Cunningham, “With this dish, I hope [guests] enjoy the fresh quality of the ingredients and the presentation.”

When moving to St. Louis, a major appeal for Cunningham was the numerous surrounding farms and availability of fresh produce and meats. For him, being able to locally source the best ingredients is crucial, and it’s also part of how he and his team keep the wheels in motion to consistently create some of the city’s finest dishes.

Cunningham’s number one tip for preparing Dover sole at home is to have a flexible boning knife to clean and fillet the fish. And while Dover sole is on this particular menu, the chef notes that “Any white fish will work for this recipe — cod, halibut, sea bass, flounder, etc.”

So, try your hand at this amazing recipe and discover the joys of innovation and reinvention in the comfort of your own kitchen.

Preparation

Start by cleaning your Dover sole. Make a small incision at the tail on one side of the fish and peel back the skin to remove. Repeat this step on the other side of the fish. Tip: Use a paper towel to get a good grip on the skin.

Use a sharp knife to slice down the backbone of the fish and lift under fillets to separate from bone. Note: If you prefer to buy your fish already cleaned, ask for four fish fillets of about 6 ounces each. You can also use any other kind of white fish (flounder, sea bass, cod, etc.).

Season fish fillets with salt and pepper.

In a saucepan, heat olive oil and butter until butter is melted and incorporated.

Add seasoned fish fillets to pan.

Cook fish until golden brown and cooked about half-way through. Turn fish over and continue to cook until internal temperature is 120 F (48.8 C).

Remove fish from pan and keep warm.

Turn the heat down on the saucepan and saute garlic slices for 30 seconds.

Deglaze pan with white wine and continue to cook until it reduces by half.

Add the heavy cream and reduce by half again. Mix well.

Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the butter, lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste. Combine until mixture has a sauce consistency.

Place the grilled asparagus and grape tomatoes on serving plates.

Arrange the fish on the plate and top each fillet with butter sauce.

Garnish with micro greens and enjoy!

(Recipe from Russel Cunningham, executive chef at St. Louis Union Station Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton, 2022.)

Alison Cavatore is the assistant editor for the content marketing team at Hilton. She has written and copyedited for numerous print and digital publications in the U.S. and abroad. Born in Pittsburgh, PA, Alison has lived in Miami, Scottsdale, Holland, France, Switzerland and Canada. She currently resides in the Washington, D.C. area.