Sole Dugléré

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Shallow 3-quart ovenproof sauté pan with lid or 9 by 13-inch baking dish
• •Sheet of baking parchment
• •2 broad fish spatulas
• •2-quart wide saucepan
• •Small whisk
• •Oval warmed serving platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the sole

   Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Pat the soles dry inside and out, then check that the trimmed fish fit side by side in a shallow ovenproof dish without bending. Season them with half the salt and all the pepper. Dry fish takes seasoning evenly, while water left on the surface only dilutes the poaching liquor.

2. 2

   Build the poaching dish

   Butter the dish generously, reserving a little butter for a sheet of parchment. Scatter half the onion, concassed tomato, and parsley across the bottom, lay the soles pale-skin side down, then cover them with the remaining vegetables and parsley. Pour the white wine around the fish, add the remaining salt, and press the buttered parchment directly over the surface. Cover the dish tightly with its lid or foil so the small quantity of wine remains around the fish instead of disappearing into the oven.

3. 3

   Poach without boiling

   Poach in the oven for 12 to 18 minutes, checking at 12. The liquor should barely tremble, and the flesh at the thickest part should turn opaque, register 145°F (63°C), or part cleanly from the backbone when tested with the tip of a knife. If the liquor begins rolling hard, lower the oven to 325°F (165°C) at once. Lift each sole carefully onto a warmed platter with two broad spatulas, cover loosely with the parchment, and keep every drop of liquor and every piece of tomato and onion in the dish.

   Do not wait for the fish to become firm. Sole is done when it releases from the bone with slight resistance; firmness means the delicate flesh has already begun to dry.
4. 4

   Reduce the liquor

   Pour the cooking liquor and all its vegetables into a wide saucepan, scraping the poaching dish clean. Boil briskly for 6 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the volume has fallen by about half, the onion is tender, and the wine no longer smells sharp. Stir in the prepared fish velouté and simmer for 1 to 2 minutes, just until the sauce naps the back of a spoon. If it remains thin, reduce it further now. If it becomes too tight, loosen it with a teaspoon of hot water. The butter cannot enter until the consistency is right.

5. 5

   Mount the sauce

   Take the saucepan completely off the heat. Add the cold butter a few cubes at a time, whisking or swirling until each addition disappears before the next goes in. This monté au beurre gives the sauce its gloss and soft body. Add the lemon juice a few drops at a time, tasting as you go; it should sharpen the tomato and wine without announcing itself. Never boil the sauce after the butter enters. If it turns greasy or separates, set the pan on a cool surface and whisk in 1 teaspoon of cold water, then add any remaining butter one cube at a time. Ça se rattrape.

6. 6

   Sauce and serve

   Taste the sauce for salt only after the reduction, since both the liquor and velouté concentrate as they cook. Spoon the hot sauce, with its softened tomato and onion, generously over the whole soles. Present them on the platter, then lift the four fillets from each backbone and give each diner two small fillets with plenty of sauce. Serve immediately. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Ask the fishmonger to remove the dark skin, scale the pale skin, take off the heads, and trim the fins. Keep the soles whole and on the bone for poaching. The bone protects the flesh and gives the liquor more character; fillets cook too quickly for this exact method.
• •If fresh tomatoes are pale and woolly, use good whole peeled canned tomatoes. Drain them briefly, weigh out 450 g, and concass them. The classical pantry solved poor seasons long before we did, and an honest preserved tomato is better than a sad fresh one.
• •Choose a dry, unoaked white wine with clean acidity. The wine reduces hard, so sweetness, aggressive oak, or bitterness will only become louder. Pour the same bottle at the table if it tastes good enough to drink.
• •The fish velouté must be ready before the sole enters the oven. Make it separately and keep its seasoning restrained, because the reduced poaching liquor brings its own salt. Rebuilding the velouté inside this recipe would be brigade scaffolding, not better cooking.
• •Sole Dugléré wants a quiet accompaniment that catches sauce: pommes vapeur, plain rice, or tender spinach cooked in butter. One is enough. Cooking well is not cooking fancy.

Advance Preparation

• •Prepare the fish velouté up to 2 days ahead and keep it covered in the refrigerator, or freeze it for up to 1 month. Reheat it gently before measuring.
• •Peel and concass the tomatoes, chop the onion, and prepare the parsley up to 4 hours ahead. Keep them separately covered and cold so the parsley stays fresh and the onion does not perfume everything beside it.
• •Have the fish cleaned earlier the same day, then keep it very cold and uncovered over a rack until cooking time. Do not salt it in advance; salt draws moisture from the delicate flesh.
• •Poach, reduce, and mount the sauce close to serving. The vegetable preparation is patient, but the butter finish and the sole are not. This is the part of the dish that must happen tonight.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 270g)