Sole Meunière aux Concombres, otherwise Doria

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Small sharp paring knife
• •14-inch heavy skillet, or two 12-inch heavy skillets
• •Two broad fish spatulas
• •Wire rack and sheet pan
• •Four oven-safe oval plates

Instructions

1. 1

   Turn the cucumbers

   Peel the cucumbers, split them lengthwise, and scrape out the watery seeds with a teaspoon. Cut the firm flesh into about 40 plump batons, each roughly 1½ inches long. With a small paring knife, round both ends and shave the sides into five or six curved facets, making little olive shapes. Aim for equal thickness rather than perfect geometry, since equal pieces finish cooking together. Keep the trimmings for a chilled soup or salad.

2. 2

   Glaze the cucumbers

   Melt 4 tablespoons of the unsalted butter in a wide sauté pan over medium-low heat. Add the turned cucumbers, ½ teaspoon of the salt, and the sugar, tossing until every piece shines with butter. Cover and cook gently for 6 to 8 minutes, turning them twice, until the edges are tender but the centres retain a slight bite. They should remain pale jade, not brown. If the cucumber releases a puddle, uncover the pan and let the liquid reduce until butter coats the pieces again. If the butter begins colouring before they are tender, lower the heat and add 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g) water. Ça se rattrape. Cover and keep them warm off the heat.

3. 3

   Prepare the soles

   Heat the oven to 200°F (95°C), place a wire rack over a sheet pan, and warm four oval plates. Dry each sole thoroughly, including the cavities and the flesh beside the backbone. Season both sides with the remaining 1½ teaspoons salt and the white pepper. Spread the flour in a wide dish, dredge each fish lightly, and knock off every loose patch. Flour only the soles going directly into the pan. If the coating turns gummy while it waits, brush it off, dry the fish again, and dredge anew. The rescue is simple; frying wet paste is not.

4. 4

   Fry the soles

   Heat a 14-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat and add 3 tablespoons of the clarified butter. When the butter shimmers, lay in two soles with the former dark-skin side down, leaving space between them. Cook without shifting them for 3 to 4 minutes, until the flour forms a fine golden crust and the fish releases without persuasion. Turn each sole with two broad spatulas, then cook the second side for 2 to 3 minutes. The flesh should just lift from the centre bone at the thickest point. Transfer the fish to the rack and hold it in the low oven for no more than 8 minutes. Wipe away loose, dark flour, add the remaining clarified butter, and cook the second pair. If two fish cannot lie flat in your skillet, use two skillets rather than crowding one.

5. 5

   Make the beurre noisette

   Wipe one skillet clean and return it to medium heat. Add the remaining 4 tablespoons unsalted butter and swirl as it melts, foams, and then quiets. Watch the milk solids beneath the foam: when they turn hazelnut brown and the butter smells toasted, remove the pan from the heat at once. This is beurre noisette, butter taken precisely to the hazelnut stage, and it supplies the meunière finish. If the colour races, pour the butter immediately into a cool heatproof cup so the skillet cannot carry it farther. Stir in the lemon juice carefully, followed by the parsley.

6. 6

   Assemble the Doria

   Lay one sole lengthwise on each warm plate. Spoon the cucumbers into two little heaps at the ends of each fish, five pieces near the head end and five near the tail, rather than scattering them over the crust. Pour the hot beurre noisette over the soles, letting a little collect beneath them while the cucumber keeps its clean butter glaze. Carry the plates straight to the table. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Ask the fishmonger for true Dover sole small enough to fit your skillet, and have the fish cleaned, headed, trimmed, and skinned on both sides. Whole lemon sole or small flounder will accept the same technique, though neither has Dover sole's dense, fine flesh.
• •A tournée knife is unnecessary. A sharp paring knife does the work, and the cucumber needs only a recognizable olive shape of even thickness. The turning stays because it defines Doria; ruler-perfect facets were brigade discipline, not flavour.
• •Clarified butter gives the flour time to bronze without burning milk solids. Clarify ordinary unsalted butter yourself if needed, but keep fresh whole butter for the beurre noisette. We don't apologize for butter, and we don't ask one kind of butter to do every job.
• •Serve with boiled new potatoes or a plain rice pilaf, nothing that competes with the cucumber and lemon. A dry Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine has the briskness for the butter and the restraint for the sole.

Advance Preparation

• •Turn the cucumbers up to 6 hours ahead, wrap them in a barely damp towel, and refrigerate them in a covered container. Cook them while the soles lose their refrigerator chill.
• •The fishmonger can prepare the soles a day ahead. Refrigerate them well wrapped, then uncover and arrange them on a rack for up to 4 hours before cooking so their surfaces dry.
• •The fish cannot be floured or fried ahead without losing the meunière crust. Have the cucumbers warm, the flour waiting, and the plates heated before the clarified butter reaches the skillet.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 250g)