Chapter XIV · Fish · No. 877
877—Filets de Soles Joinville
Select some fine fillets of soles; fold them, and poach them in the cooking-liquor of mushrooms, and butter, taking care to keep them very white. Arrange them in an oval, with their tails pointing upwards and the carapace of a crayfish fixed on each fillet; and garnish the middle of the dish with a salpicon or a short julienne, consisting of one and one-half oz. of cooked mushrooms, one-half oz. of truffle, and one and one-half oz. of shrimps’ tails cohered by means of a few tablespoonfuls of Joinville sauce. Coat the fillets and the garnish with the same sauce, and deck each fillet with a fine slice of truffle coated with meat-glaze.
They may also be served after the old-fashioned way, as follows:—
Set the garnish in the middle of the dish, shaping it like a dome; coat it with Joinville sauce, and surround it with the fillets of sole, which should slightly overlap one another and have their tails uppermost. Fix a carapace of crayfish on the tail of each fillet, and deck each with a slice of very black truffle.
With this method of dishing, the garnish alone is coated with sauce, the fillets thus forming a white, encircling border.
Escoffier, A. (1907). A Guide to Modern Cookery, No. 877, p. 295. London: William Heinemann. Translation of Le Guide Culinaire (1903).
Curious how this dish reads in a modern kitchen? See Chef Juliette’s version →