Sole à la Russe

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •9 by 13-inch (23 by 33 cm) deep ovenproof dish
• •2-quart (2-litre) saucepan
• •Flexible filleting or boning knife
• •Two wide fish spatulas
• •Heatproof measuring jug
• •Vegetable peeler or channel knife

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare fish and vegetables

   Heat the oven to 350°F (180°C). To imitate the original grooved carrot without buying a special cutter, draw the corner of a vegetable peeler lightly along the carrot in several lengthwise channels, then cut 24 roundels no thicker than 1 to 2 mm. Leave them plain if the grooves become a nuisance; they are scaffolding for presentation, while the thinness ensures the carrot cooks with the onion. Pat the soles dry and lay them with their former dark sides uppermost. Run a flexible knife down the centre line of each fish until it touches the backbone, then slide it a short distance beneath each of the two upper fillets. Loosen only the central half, leaving the outer edges attached. Slip 1 tablespoon of butter beneath each loosened fillet, using 4 tablespoons altogether, and season the fish lightly with the salt.

   Ask the fishmonger to skin, gut, and trim the soles, but keep them whole on the bone. The bone protects the flesh during poaching and gives the liquor body.
2. 2

   Reduce the vegetables

   Put the carrot roundels, sliced onions, white wine, and fish fumet into a 2-quart saucepan. Bring them to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered until the vegetables are supple and the liquid has reduced by half, from about 535 ml to roughly 1⅛ cups (270 ml), about 12 to 15 minutes. Keep the vegetables pale; browning would muddy the clean flavour and colour of the sauce. If the liquid reaches the mark before a carrot bends easily, add a spoonful of water and simmer for another minute. Pour the vegetables and all their liquor into the deep baking dish.

3. 3

   Poach and baste

   Set the soles side by side over the vegetables, arranging them head-to-tail if necessary. Cover the dish loosely with foil and poach in the oven for 14 to 18 minutes, uncovering every 4 minutes to spoon the liquor generously over the upper fillets. The liquid should tremble around the fish, never boil hard. If it begins bubbling fiercely, lower the oven to 325°F (165°C); violent heat tightens sole before its thicker flesh cooks. The fish is ready when the flesh beside the backbone has turned opaque, yields under a fingertip, and lifts cleanly from the bone, or when the thickest part reaches 140 to 145°F (60 to 63°C). Lift each sole onto a warmed oval platter with two wide spatulas. Arrange the carrots and onions around it, cover loosely, and keep the platter near the stove while you finish the sauce.

4. 4

   Reduce the liquor hard

   Pour the cooking liquor back into the saucepan and bring it to a brisk boil. Reduce it to a generous ½ cup (about 140 ml), watching the volume rather than the minutes; the bubbles will grow tighter and the liquor will begin to look glossy. Add the lemon juice and taste before adding any more salt, because fumet grows saltier as it concentrates. If the reduction goes too far or tastes too forceful, loosen it one tablespoon at a time with hot water until it returns to 140 ml.

5. 5

   Monter au beurre

   Take the saucepan completely off the heat. Monter au beurre, whisk in the remaining 6 tablespoons of chilled butter a few cubes at a time, allowing each addition to melt before adding the next. Move the pan briefly over the lowest heat only if the butter refuses to melt, and never let the sauce boil once the butter goes in. It is ready when it looks satiny and coats a spoon in a thin, even film. If the sauce turns oily or separates, don't pour it out. Ça se rattrape. Put 1 tablespoon of cold water in a clean saucepan and whisk the broken sauce into it gradually, one spoonful at a time, until the emulsion gathers again. Coat the soles and vegetables generously with the finished sauce and serve at once. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Dover sole earns its place here because its firm fillets remain whole while you loosen, baste, and lift them. Buy fish with clear eyes, red gills, and a clean sea smell. Fillets alone change the poaching and give the sauce less body.
• •Use a clean, lightly seasoned fish fumet. A harsh or heavily salted commercial stock becomes harsher when reduced twice, and this sauce has nowhere to conceal it.
• •Keep the finishing butter properly cold and add it away from the heat. The contrast between hot reduction and cold butter builds the emulsion; boiling destroys it.
• •Serve the sole immediately, with boiled new potatoes or plain rice to catch the sauce. A dry Chablis has enough acidity for the butter without trampling the delicate fish.
• •The completed dish does not improve by waiting. If leftovers remain, refrigerate them promptly and eat within one day, preferably cold or barely warmed, since reheating the mounted sauce can split it.

Advance Preparation

• •Have the fish fumet finished and chilled before beginning. It may be prepared up to two days ahead, or frozen in a tightly sealed container for longer storage.
• •The carrots and onions may be cut up to 6 hours ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator. The first reduction with the vegetables, wine, and fumet may also be made earlier that day; chill it promptly, then bring it back to a simmer before pouring it into the baking dish.
• •The fishmonger can prepare the soles one day ahead. Keep them very cold on a covered tray, then dry and loosen the upper fillets shortly before poaching.
• •Do not mount the sauce with butter in advance. Complete that final emulsion only when the platter is ready and everyone is coming to the table.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 225g)