Filets de Soles Verdi

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •2-quart heavy saucepan
• •Balloon whisk and fine-mesh sieve
• •4-quart pasta pot and colander
• •12-inch wide sauté pan with lid
• •2½-quart shallow broiler-safe gratin dish
• •Broad flexible fish spatula
• •Instant-read thermometer

Instructions

1. 1

   Build the Mornay

   Melt the 2 tablespoons butter in a heavy saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk in the flour and cook this roux blanc (white roux) for 2 minutes without letting it color. Holding back the reserved cold milk, add the remaining milk by thirds, whisking each addition completely smooth before adding the next. Bring the sauce to the barest simmer and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, whisking often, until it coats a spoon without tasting floury. Remove it from the heat, stir in the Gruyère and Parmesan for the sauce, then season lightly with salt and white pepper. Never boil Mornay after the cheese enters. If it turns oily or grainy, take it off the heat and whisk in the reserved cold milk a spoonful at a time, then pass it through a fine sieve. Ça se rattrape. Press parchment directly against the surface and keep the sauce warm, not bubbling.

   The sauce should fall from the spoon in a broad ribbon. If it stands in a lump, loosen it with reserved milk; if it runs like plain milk, simmer it before adding the cheese.
2. 2

   Bind the macaroni

   Boil the macaroni in well-salted water until tender but still firm at its center, about 1 minute short of the package time. Drain it thoroughly and shake the colander until no water falls, but do not rinse. Return it to the warm pan over low heat with 6 tablespoons of the cream, the Gruyère, and the Parmesan reserved for the macaroni. Stir until the cheese melts and the cream clings to every piece. Draw a spoon across the pan: the path should close slowly. If the mixture is stiff, add the remaining cream a spoonful at a time; if it pools, keep stirring over low heat for 30 to 60 seconds. Fold in the 3 ounces of lobster and 1½ ounces of truffle off the heat, preserving the source's exact ratio to 8 ounces of macaroni. Taste and correct the seasoning.

3. 3

   Lay the even bed

   Butter a shallow broiler-safe gratin dish. Spoon in the macaroni and spread it into a perfectly even bed about ¾ inch thick, taking care to distribute the lobster and truffle rather than leaving their good bites in one corner. Press only enough to level it. Compacted macaroni turns heavy beneath the fish. Set the dish near the stove while you poach the sole, and begin heating the broiler with a rack about 6 inches below it.

4. 4

   Poach the sole flat

   Season the sole lightly with salt and white pepper, then arrange the fillets in one flat layer in a wide sauté pan, keeping them in their natural state rather than folding or rolling them. Pour the fish fumet around them and bring it just to a tremble over medium-low heat. Cover and poach gently for 3 to 5 minutes, depending on thickness, until the flesh is turning opaque and reaches about 135 to 140°F (57 to 60°C) at the center; the final glaze will carry it to 145°F (63°C). If the fumet begins to boil, slide the pan off the burner immediately, uncover it for 20 seconds, and finish over the lowest heat. Lift any thinner fillet as soon as it is ready.

5. 5

   Coat the fillets

   Lift the sole with a broad fish spatula and let each fillet drain for a moment so the Mornay will cling. Lay the fillets neatly over the macaroni without overlapping them. Remove the parchment from the warm Mornay, whisk it smooth, and spoon a complete but not heavy coat over every fillet. The contours of the fish should remain visible beneath the sauce. Do not pour the poaching fumet into the Mornay; the source keeps the fumet poach and the cheese sauce distinct.

6. 6

   Glaze and serve

   Set the dish beneath the fully heated broiler and glaze it quickly for 2 to 4 minutes, watching without leaving the stove, until the Mornay is freckled butter-gold and the edges bubble. Rotate the dish once if one side colors faster, but do not chase an absolutely even brown top and overcook the sole for appearances. Check that the thickest fillet has reached 145°F (63°C), then carry the gratin directly to the table. The sauce should gleam, the sole should part under the spoon, and the macaroni should hold it all together. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Ditalini is the honest home equivalent of long macaroni cut into dice. It preserves the small, even pieces the source requires while removing a brigade task that adds no flavor.
• •Use true sole when you can. Lemon sole or another fine-textured flatfish can stand in, but choose broad fillets of even thickness so they poach together and remain flat beneath the Mornay.
• •A prepared fish fumet is ideal. If you have only good unsalted fish stock, reduce 1¾ cups (420 ml / 420 g) to 1¼ cups (300 ml / 300 g), then taste it cold; it should be concentrated and clean, never aggressively salty.
• •The truffle quantity is generous because the source means it to be. Out of season, whole preserved black truffles are the classical pantry's honest answer. Drain them and use their flesh, not flavored oil.
• •Serve this as the center of the meal with a sharply dressed green salad afterward. A firm, mineral white Burgundy has enough breadth for the Mornay and enough freshness for the sole.

Advance Preparation

• •The fish fumet can be prepared or reduced up to two days ahead and kept covered in the cold. Bring it back only to a gentle simmer for poaching.
• •The Mornay can be made earlier the same day. Press parchment against its surface, chill it promptly, then reheat it over low heat with a spoonful of milk, whisking until smooth.
• •Dice the lobster and truffle and grate both cheeses up to four hours ahead, keeping each component separately covered in the cold. Bind the macaroni near serving time.
• •Do not poach the sole in advance. The poach, coating, and glaze require only the final ten minutes, and doing them together preserves the fish's tenderness.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 480g)