Filets de Soles Américaine

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Deep 12-inch sauté pan with a close-fitting lid
• •Small heavy saucepan
• •14-inch oval serving platter
• •Slotted fish spatula
• •Fine whisk
• •Instant-read thermometer

Instructions

1. 1

   Ready the lobster component

   Have the Homard à l’Américaine (No. 939) completely prepared before the sole enters its pan. Lift the cooked tail and claw meat gently from its sauce, slice the tail crosswise into generous medallions, and keep all the meat covered with a spoonful of sauce. Put the remaining lobster sauce in a small saucepan and keep it merely warm. Do not boil it.

2. 2

   Prepare pan and platter

   Fill a large oval serving platter with hot water and set it aside to warm. Coat the base and sides of a deep 12-inch sauté pan with the softened butter. The pan should hold the folded fillets in one snug layer; too much empty space demands more fumet and weakens the poach.

3. 3

   Fold the sole

   Feel each sole fillet for stray bones and remove any you find. Fold the thin tail end underneath the thicker half, keeping the former skin side inside, to make eight tidy packets of even thickness. Arrange them in the buttered pan without stacking. Even folds cook together; loose tails turn dry before the thick ends are ready.

   If the fillets vary greatly in size, pair the smallest folds near the cooler edge of the pan and the largest near the centre.
4. 4

   Poach at a tremble

   Pour the hot fish fumet around the sole, not directly over it, so the liquid comes roughly one-third to halfway up the folds. Cover closely and set the pan over medium-low heat until the fumet shows only the faintest movement, then lower the heat. Poach for 5 to 7 minutes, until the fillets are pearly and just opaque at the thickest fold, reaching 145°F (63°C). If the fumet begins to boil, pull the pan off the heat and uncover it for half a minute; caught quickly, ça se rattrape. A hard boil contracts the fish and pushes out its moisture.

5. 5

   Build the oval

   Empty and dry the warmed platter. Lift the sole from the fumet with a slotted fish spatula, allowing each fillet to drain well so the poaching liquor cannot dilute the lobster sauce. Arrange the folds in an oval, overlapping them slightly and turning every narrow tail end underneath and toward the centre, exactly as the entry directs. Cover loosely while you finish the sauce.

6. 6

   Correct the sauce

   Warm the sauce from the Homard à l’Américaine (No. 939) over the lowest heat, stirring gently, until it is fluid enough to coat a spoon. Never let it boil. If it is too thick, whisk in hot fish fumet one teaspoon at a time. If butter gathers in oily beads at the edge, take the pan off the heat, put 1 tablespoon of cold water in a clean saucepan, and whisk the sauce into it gradually until the gloss returns. Ça se rattrape.

7. 7

   Crown and coat

   Arrange the warm lobster medallions and claw meat in the centre of the sole oval. Spoon the lobster sauce over the lobster and every folded fillet, coating the whole dish generously while leaving its shape visible. Bring it straight to the table, with any remaining sauce alongside. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Ask the fishmonger for eight evenly sized fillets cut from four whole soles. Dover sole has the firmness to fold and poach cleanly; a very delicate flounder can work, but it needs gentler handling and may cook a minute sooner.
• •Fumet means a concentrated fish essence, not a heavy or oily stock. Use a clean homemade fumet when you have it; otherwise reduce a good unsalted fish stock by about one-third and taste before using, since the lobster sauce already carries seasoning.
• •Homard à l’Américaine (No. 939) is not an optional garnish here. Its lobster meat fills the centre and its sauce coats the sole, so replacing it with plain cooked lobster leaves the dish without its foundation.
• •Serve with plain rice or small boiled potatoes to catch the sauce, not another rich preparation competing for attention. A firm, dry white Burgundy or a dry Champagne has enough breadth for the lobster and enough freshness for the tomato.

Advance Preparation

• •Prepare the Homard à l’Américaine (No. 939) immediately before the sole, or hold its meat and sauce separately for no longer than 30 minutes. Keep both warm and never allow the finished sauce to boil.
• •The sole fillets may be checked for bones, folded, covered, and refrigerated up to 4 hours ahead. Take them from the cold while the fumet heats.
• •Fish fumet may be prepared up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated, or frozen in measured portions. Heat only the amount needed for the shallow poach.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 400g)