Sole Normande

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •16-inch (40 cm) oval ovenproof platter or shallow gratin dish
• •Two broad fish spatulas
• •2-quart heavy saucepan or saucier
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Small shallow frying pan
• •Instant-read thermometer

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the small foundations

   Put the chicken stock in your smallest saucepan and reduce it gently to 2 tablespoons, glossy and pale gold, to make the pale meat-glaze. If it becomes too sticky to pipe or spoon, loosen it with a teaspoon of water and warm it gently. Bring the cooked crayfish toward room temperature, slice the truffle, and have the finished Anglaise (for Egg-and-bread-crumbing) (No. 174) ready for the gudgeons or smelt. These small jobs are what a brigade divided among several hands; doing them first keeps one cook calm at the finish.

2. 2

   Make mushroom liquor

   Put the mushrooms in a small saucepan with 1 tablespoon of the unsalted butter, the 1/2 cup water, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, and a pinch of salt. Cover and simmer gently for 6 to 8 minutes, until the mushrooms are tender but still hold their shape. Drain them through a fine sieve and measure exactly a scant 1/2 cup of their cooking liquor, matching the quantity of fumet. If you have more, reduce it; if you have less, add water. Set the mushrooms aside for the garnish.

3. 3

   Poach the shellfish

   Put the mussels and 2 tablespoons water in a covered saucepan over medium-high heat. As each mussel opens, lift it out; discard any that remain closed. Strain the liquor through a fine sieve lined with damp paper, shell the mussels, and keep them covered. Bring the strained mussel liquor and the oyster liquor to the gentlest simmer, poach the oysters until their edges curl and their centers set, then lift them out. Poach the shrimp tails in the same liquor until opaque and just firm, about 1 to 2 minutes. Reserve every drop of the strained cooking liquor for the sauce.

4. 4

   Fry the croutons

   Heat 2 tablespoons of the clarified butter in a small skillet. Fry the six bread lozenges over medium heat until evenly pale gold and crisp on both faces, adding another spoonful of clarified butter if the bread drinks the pan dry. Drain them on paper and leave them uncovered. These can wait; the little fish cannot.

5. 5

   Poach the sole

   Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Butter a shallow oval baking dish with 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, lay in the sole, and season it lightly with salt and white pepper. Pour the scant 1/2 cup fumet and the equal quantity of mushroom cooking liquor around the fish, then cover closely with buttered parchment or a lid. Poach in the oven for 15 to 22 minutes, according to thickness, until the flesh beside the backbone is opaque, releases cleanly, and reaches 140°F (60°C). Lift the sole carefully onto a warm ovenproof serving platter, using two broad spatulas, and reserve all its liquor.

6. 6

   Build the Normande sauce

   Combine the sole liquor with the strained shellfish liquor and boil briskly until reduced to 1 cup. Reserve 2 tablespoons of this reduction for loosening the finished sauce. In a clean saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, stir in the 2 tablespoons flour, and cook this pale roux for 2 minutes without letting it color. Whisk in the remaining hot reduction little by little, then add 3/4 cup of the cream. Simmer gently until the sauce coats the back of a spoon and tastes concentrated rather than merely creamy, about 4 minutes.

7. 7

   Enrich without boiling

   Whisk the egg yolks with the remaining 1/4 cup cream. Temper them with two spoonfuls of the hot sauce, then whisk the mixture back into the saucepan over low heat until the sauce thickens slightly and reaches 160°F (71°C). Remove it from the heat and whisk in the remaining 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, one small piece at a time, followed by 2 teaspoons lemon juice. Do not boil after the yolks and butter enter. If the sauce separates, ça se rattrape: whisk 1 tablespoon cold cream in a clean warm pan, then add the broken sauce a spoonful at a time until smooth. If it is too thick, use the reserved reduction to loosen it. Taste for salt, white pepper, and lemon, then hold it over barely warm water.

8. 8

   Warm and fry

   Lower the oven to 275°F (135°C). Ring the sole with the mussels, oysters, shrimp tails, and mushrooms, then place the platter in the oven for 3 to 4 minutes. Meanwhile, paner à l'anglaise, meaning coat for frying, the gudgeons or smelt: dry them well, season lightly, dredge in flour, pass them through the Anglaise (for Egg-and-bread-crumbing) (No. 174), and coat completely in breadcrumbs. Heat the remaining clarified butter until a crumb sizzles at once, then fry the fish until deep gold, crisp, and cooked through, about 2 minutes per side. Drain and salt them immediately.

9. 9

   Dress the platter

   Take the platter from the oven and tilt it carefully over a bowl, spooning away every drop of liquid that has gathered; leave it and the Normande sauce will become thin at the table. Coat the sole and its shellfish garnish generously with the warm sauce. Draw a small garland of pale meat-glaze over the sauce, lay the six truffle slices in a neat row along the sole, and arrange the six lozenge croutons around them. Set the four fried gudgeons or smelt and the four court-bouillon crayfish around the platter. Serve at once, while the sauce gleams and the croutons remain crisp. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Ask the fishmonger for one large bone-in Dover sole, skinned on both sides and trimmed. The bone protects the flesh during poaching and gives the platter its proper shape. If only fillets are available, use eight large fillets arranged in overlapping pairs and begin checking them after 6 minutes; the presentation changes, but the poaching principle does not.
• •Fumet must taste distinctly of fish without tasting muddy or aggressively salty. If all you can buy is mild fish stock, reduce it before measuring the scant 1/2 cup. A salty commercial concentrate will only become harsher when the sauce reduces.
• •Gudgeons are seldom sold outside their freshwater markets. Small whole smelt are the honest equivalent: delicate enough to eat nearly whole, firm enough to survive paner à l'anglaise, and appropriately sized for the original garnish.
• •Use preserved whole black truffle when fresh truffle is unavailable. Drain and slice it thinly rather than replacing it with truffle oil, which overwhelms the sole and has none of the texture the garnish requires.
• •Serve with a mineral white Burgundy or a dry Norman cider. Both have enough acidity for the cream and enough restraint to leave the oysters and sole in command.

Advance Preparation

• •The pale meat-glaze, court-bouillon crayfish, and finished Anglaise (for Egg-and-bread-crumbing) (No. 174) can be prepared one day ahead and kept covered in the cold. Bring the glaze and crayfish toward room temperature before assembly.
• •The mushrooms, mussels, oysters, and shrimp can be cooked up to 4 hours ahead. Chill each garnish covered, keep all strained cooking liquors together, and return the seafood to room temperature while the sole poaches.
• •The combined poaching liquors may be reduced and the roux-based sauce brought to its first simmer up to 2 hours ahead. Add the cream-and-yolk liaison and cold butter only shortly before serving; a fully enriched Normande sauce dislikes reheating and must never boil.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 480g)