Another Method of Preparing Aspics de Filets de Soles

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Food processor with metal blade
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •10-inch (25 cm) wide sauté pan
• •Fine-mesh sieve and clean cheesecloth
• •Smooth 4-cup (1 L), 6 1/2-inch (16 cm) border or savarin mould
• •Large bowl for the crushed-ice bath
• •Undyed cotton kitchen twine
• •Thin, very sharp slicing knife
• •Chilled serving platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the fish jelly

   Set aside 3 cups (720 ml / 720 g) of the fumet for poaching. From the remaining fumet, pour 1/2 cup (120 ml / 120 g) into a cold bowl, sprinkle the gelatin evenly over it, and leave it undisturbed for 10 minutes. Whisk the clarifying egg white into the other 2 1/2 cups (600 ml / 600 g) while the fumet is cold. Heat it very slowly, stirring until the egg white begins gathering into a raft, then stop stirring and hold it at a bare tremble for 8 minutes. Ladle the liquid through a damp, cloth-lined fine sieve without pressing the raft. If the fumet remains hazy, ça se rattrape: let it settle for 10 minutes and pass it slowly through a damp coffee filter. Stir the bloomed gelatin into the hot clarified fumet until completely dissolved, but do not boil it. Season lightly with salt and white pepper, remembering that cold dulls seasoning, then cool the jelly until fluid and faintly syrupy, about 20 to 22°C.

   Keep the jelly fluid over a barely warm water bath while assembling. If it begins setting in the pitcher, warm it gently until it loosens; direct heat makes it needlessly hot and threatens every finished layer.
2. 2

   Make cold forcemeat

   Chill the food-processor bowl and blade. Process the cubed fish with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and a small pinch of white pepper until it becomes smooth and tacky. Add the cold egg white and process only until absorbed. With the machine running, add the cream in a fine stream, pausing before the final spoonful to check that the bowl and mixture remain cold. Add the last cream, then fold in the crayfish butter and chopped truffle trimmings by hand. The forcemeat should be glossy, firm, and spreadable. If it begins looking loose or greasy, stop before adding more cream, set the bowl over ice for 10 minutes, then resume a few drops at a time. Ça se rattrape.

3. 3

   Roll the paupiettes

   Lay the sole fillets with their former skin sides upward and season them lightly with salt and white pepper. Divide the forcemeat among them and spread it in a thin, even coat, leaving a narrow border around each fillet. Place one truffle baton crosswise near the narrow tail end. Roll each fillet snugly from the tail toward the wider end so the truffle becomes the heart of the scroll. Tie each paupiette once or twice around its circumference with undyed cotton kitchen twine, using only enough pressure to hold its round shape. Chill for 15 minutes.

4. 4

   Poach at a tremble

   Heat the reserved 3 cups (720 ml / 720 g) of fumet in a wide sauté pan to 75°C, with only an occasional tremor at the surface. Arrange the paupiettes seam-side down in one layer and cover them with a round of baking parchment. Poach between 70 and 75°C for 8 to 12 minutes, turning once if they are not almost covered, until the forcemeat at the centre reaches 63°C. Boiling toughens the sole and loosens the rolls, so lower the heat immediately if bubbles gather. Transfer the paupiettes to a rack set over an ice-lined tray, keeping melting ice away from the fish, and chill promptly.

5. 5

   Cut clean roundels

   Refrigerate the paupiettes until thoroughly cold and firm, about 1 hour. Remove the twine, trim both ends neatly, and cut the rolls crosswise into roundels exactly 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) thick with a thin, very sharp knife. Wipe the blade after every cut so the pale fish, coral-tinted forcemeat, and black truffle centre remain distinct. If the filling smears, the paupiette is not cold enough; chill it for another 20 minutes and cut again.

6. 6

   Clothe the mould

   Nest a smooth 4-cup (1 L) border mould in a wide bowl of crushed ice and a little cold water, keeping the rim level. Pour about 1/3 cup (80 ml / 80 g) of cool, fluid jelly into the mould. Rock and rotate it continuously so the jelly runs over the bottom and sides in one thin, even film, then pour out the excess. This is chemiser le moule, clothing the mould, and it cannot be skipped. If the jelly freezes into ridges or pools in one place, wrap the outside briefly with a warm towel until the film just loosens, then rock it over the ice again. Ça se rattrape.

   The mould must be cold and the jelly cool, not icy. A warm mould will not catch the film; jelly that is already setting will form cloudy ropes instead of a clear coat.
7. 7

   Fix the decoration

   Arrange the reserved truffle slices and chervil leaves against the clothed bottom of the mould, remembering that this surface becomes the top. Fix each piece with a few drops of jelly and chill until held firmly. Pour in enough jelly to form a 1/2-inch (1.25 cm) layer over the decoration, then refrigerate until set. If a leaf floats, lift it out, dry it, and fix it again with two separate drops before adding the deeper layer.

8. 8

   Set first roundels

   Stand the cold paupiette roundels upright and close together against the sides of the mould, with their cut faces directed outward. Spoon a few drops of jelly around their bases and chill until fixed. Add more cool jelly, slowly and close to the surface, until the roundels are completely covered. If the layer beneath begins to soften, the jelly is too warm; stop, refrigerate the mould for 10 minutes, and let the jelly cool before continuing.

9. 9

   Fill in layers

   Repeat with more upright roundels, fixing each group with drops of jelly before covering it fully. Continue roundels, jelly, a short chill, then roundels again until the mould is filled. Pass a thin skewer carefully between crowded pieces to release any trapped air, without scratching the clothed surface. Finish with a complete layer of jelly level with the rim. This patient layering is the structure of the dish, not decoration laid on afterward.

10. 10

    Chill and unmould

    Cover the mould without touching the jelly and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight. To unmould, dip only the outside in comfortably warm water for 3 to 5 seconds, dry it, place a chilled platter over the mould, and invert both together. If the aspic does not release, press a warm towel around the outside for another few seconds rather than forcing it. Should the surface begin to soften, return the mould to the refrigerator for 15 minutes before trying again. Serve thoroughly chilled. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Choose small, thin sole fillets of even size, about 2 to 2 1/2 oz (55 to 70 g) each. Large flounder fillets can be trimmed to the same dimensions, but they are more fragile and make broader roundels; the result remains good, though the pattern changes.
• •Prepared crayfish butter is the source entry's finish, not a decorative extra. It scents and lightly colours the forcemeat while keeping it supple when cold. Lobster butter gives a different sweetness, and plain butter loses the shellfish note. We don't apologize for butter, and we don't pretend one butter is another.
• •Use gelatin of roughly 200-bloom strength. Sheets can replace powder by equal weight, but bloom them in cold fumet before dissolving them. Too little gelatin slumps on unmoulding; too much gives the aspic the manners of rubber.
• •Keep the decoration restrained. The roundels are already patterned with sole, forcemeat, and truffle, so a few leaves and truffle slices are enough. Cooking well is not cooking fancy.
• •Serve with a very dry white wine, such as Chablis, or a restrained brut Champagne. The wine needs acidity and quietness beside the cold fumet and truffle.

Advance Preparation

• •The fish jelly can be prepared up to 2 days ahead, covered, and refrigerated. Rewarm it over a gentle water bath until fluid, then cool it to 20 to 22°C before clothing the mould.
• •Poach and chill the paupiettes earlier in the same day, then cut them immediately before assembly. Keep them covered and below 4°C so their surfaces do not dry.
• •Assemble the entire aspic the evening before serving. An overnight chill gives the layers time to set firmly and makes unmoulding calmer. Serve within 24 hours of unmoulding.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 440g)