Sole Marinière

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide 4-quart lidded pot for the mussels
• •Large shallow ovenproof poaching dish
• •Broiler-safe oval serving platter
• •Fine-mesh sieve with damp cheesecloth or an unbleached coffee filter
• •Small heavy saucepan
• •Whisk
• •Two broad fish spatulas
• •Fish server

Instructions

1. 1

   Open the mussels

   Check the mussels before cooking. Discard any with broken shells and any open mussel that refuses to close when tapped. Put them in a wide lidded pot with the water, cover, and cook over medium-high heat, shaking the pot once or twice. Begin lifting out the mussels as their shells open, about 3 to 5 minutes, so the first ones don't toughen while the last catch up. Discard any that remain closed. When cool enough to handle, remove the meats from their shells, pull away any remaining beards, and cover them so they stay moist.

   A mussel that remains closed after cooking is not stubborn, it is supper declined. Discard it.
2. 2

   Clarify the liquor

   Pour the mussel liquor slowly through a fine sieve lined with damp cheesecloth or an unbleached coffee filter, leaving the sandy final spoonful behind. Measure exactly 3/4 cup (190 ml). If you have less, add only enough water to reach the measure; reserve any excess for another fish sauce or soup. This clarity matters because every grain of sand will announce itself in the finished liaison.

3. 3

   Poach the sole

   Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Liberally butter a broad shallow ovenproof dish and scatter the shallot across its bottom. Lay the soles flat in the dish, without overlapping, then pour the white wine and measured mussel liquor around them. Cover closely with buttered parchment and foil. Poach in the oven for 12 to 18 minutes, depending on thickness, until the flesh beside the backbone has turned opaque and separates cleanly when tested with the point of a knife. The liquid should barely tremble, not boil hard; violent heat tightens the fish before the sauce has even begun.

   The wine and mussel liquor should surround the fish rather than drown it. A close cover traps enough gentle heat to cook the upper surface.
4. 4

   Dish the fish

   Lift the soles carefully onto a large broiler-safe oval platter, using two broad spatulas so their tender flesh remains whole. Arrange the mussel meats generously around them. Tilt the platter and spoon away any liquid already collecting beneath the fish, then cover loosely with parchment and keep it beside the warm oven. Do not hold it longer than about 10 minutes; this pause is for finishing the sauce, not beginning another course.

5. 5

   Reduce the liquor

   Strain the poaching liquor into a small heavy saucepan and boil it briskly until reduced by half, from roughly 1 1/2 cups (380 ml) to 3/4 cup (190 ml). Stir in the prepared fish velouté and simmer for about 30 seconds, whisking until completely smooth. The sauce should have light body but remain loose, because the yolks and butter still have work to do.

6. 6

   Keep the yolks calm

   Remove the saucepan from the heat. Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl, then add about 1/2 cup (120 ml) of the hot reduction in a thin stream while whisking constantly. Return this tempered liaison to the saucepan and set it over the lowest heat. Whisk until the sauce becomes nappant, meaning it coats the back of a spoon and a finger drawn through it leaves a clean path. It must not simmer once the yolks enter. If the first tiny grains appear, pull the pan off the heat at once, set its base in cool water, and whisk in 1 tablespoon of cold water before straining. Ça se rattrape.

   Watch the sauce rather than the clock. Its change from liquid to a soft coating happens quickly, and boiling is the one thing the yolks won't forgive.
7. 7

   Mount with butter

   Keep the pan away from the fire and whisk in the cold butter a few cubes at a time, allowing each addition to disappear before adding more. This monter au beurre, whisking butter into the warm sauce, gives the finish its gloss and generous body. Fold in the chopped parsley. If the sauce turns oily instead of smooth, place 1 teaspoon of cold water in a clean warm bowl and whisk in the sauce gradually, one spoonful at a time, until the emulsion returns.

8. 8

   Coat and glaze

   Heat the broiler fully and position a rack about 6 inches (15 cm) below it. Tilt the fish platter once more and remove every spoonful of accumulated liquid, then coat the soles and mussels completely with the sauce. Broil for 20 to 45 seconds, turning the platter if necessary, only until the glossy surface takes the faintest patches of gold. Stand beside it. A salamander worked quickly, and the home broiler must do the same; waiting for the sauce to bubble risks splitting the liaison and overcooking the sole. Bring the platter directly to the table and lift the fillets from the backbone with a fish server. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Ask for European Dover sole, Solea solea, and have the fishmonger skin, gut, and trim it while leaving each fish whole. Lemon sole can take the same treatment, but its softer flesh and sweeter flavor make a gentler dish.
• •The mussel liquor is both stock and seasoning. Filter it patiently and don't salt the fish in advance; reduction concentrates salinity, and the finished sauce often needs nothing more.
• •Use a lightly seasoned prepared fish velouté. Only two tablespoons are needed because it supports the liaison rather than dominating it. Freeze spare velouté in tablespoon portions and this grand-kitchen assumption becomes an ordinary home convenience.
• •A dry Muscadet or restrained, unoaked white Burgundy works in the pan and at the table. Serve boiled new potatoes or plain rice beside the sole, something quiet enough to catch the sauce without competing with it.
• •The liaison is at its best immediately. If leftovers remain, chill them within 2 hours and eat them the following day, reheating very gently over warm water without returning the dish to the broiler.

Advance Preparation

• •The prepared fish velouté may be made up to 2 days ahead and chilled in a covered container. Warm the measured portion only when it enters the reduced poaching liquor.
• •The mussels may be opened and their liquor clarified up to 2 hours ahead. Chill the mussel meats and liquor separately in covered containers, then arrange the mussels around the fish just before the sauce is finished.
• •The fish may be cleaned and the shallot chopped earlier in the day. The poaching, liaison, butter finish, and glaze belong to the final half hour and should not be done ahead.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 225g)