Sole Montreuil

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •12-inch lidded sauté pan
• •1¼-inch Parisienne scoop or sturdy melon baller
• •Small heavy saucepan
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Immersion blender and tall blending cup
• •Flexible fish spatula
• •Large warmed oval serving platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Shape the potatoes

   Use a 1¼-inch Parisienne scoop or sturdy melon baller to cut 20 to 24 walnut-sized balls from the peeled potatoes. Put them in a saucepan with the water and 1 tablespoon of the salt, bring them slowly to a gentle simmer, and cook for 12 to 16 minutes, until a thin knife enters with only faint resistance. Keep the water calm and do not stir them about; a hard boil knocks away their edges. Drain carefully, cover, and keep warm.

   The potato trimmings are useful. Keep them submerged in cold water and turn them into soup, mash, or a thickener for another sauce.
2. 2

   Make sauce crevettes

   Measure ⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon (95 ml) of the fumet for poaching the sole; reserve the remaining ¼ cup plus 1 teaspoon (65 ml). Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, add the shrimp shells, and cook for about 3 minutes, crushing them with a wooden spoon until they turn coral and smell sweet. Add the reserved fumet, simmer gently for 6 minutes, then strain through a fine sieve, pressing firmly on the shells. Discard the shells. Return the liquid to the pan, add the shrimp meat, and poach at a bare simmer for 1 to 2 minutes, just until opaque. Transfer everything to a tall cup, add 2 tablespoons of the cream and 1 tablespoon of cold butter, then blend until completely smooth. Pass the sauce through the clean sieve and season with a small pinch of the remaining salt. Hold it in a bowl over warm water, never directly over a burner. If it thickens or looks greasy, blend in 1 teaspoon of cold cream before warming it gently again.

3. 3

   Poach the sole

   Pat the sole fillets dry, tuck each thin tail end underneath to even its thickness, and season lightly with the remaining salt. Arrange the fillets in one layer in a wide lidded sauté pan. Pour the measured ⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon fumet and the equal measure of white wine around them, then dot the fish with 1 tablespoon of butter. Cover the surface closely with a round of parchment and set on the lid. Bring the liquid to the faintest tremble over medium-low heat, then poach for 4 to 6 minutes, until the thickest part is opaque and reaches 145°F (63°C). If the liquid begins bubbling hard, pull the pan off the burner at once, lower the heat, and return it only when the boiling has stopped.

   Do not turn the fillets. The parchment keeps their upper surfaces moist while the shallow cuisson cooks them gently from beneath.
4. 4

   Build sauce au vin blanc

   Lift the sole carefully onto a warmed oval platter and cover it loosely with the poaching parchment. Strain the cuisson into a measuring jug, return it to the sauté pan, and boil until reduced to ½ cup (120 ml). In the cleaned shrimp saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter, add the flour, and stir over low heat for 90 seconds without letting it color. This is a roux blanc, a pale roux. Whisk in the reduced cuisson a little at a time, simmer for 2 minutes, then add ½ cup (120 ml) of the cream and simmer gently until the sauce naps the back of a spoon. Take it off the heat and whisk in 1 tablespoon of cold butter. If it is lumpy, pass it through the sieve. If the finishing butter separates into greasy beads, remove the sauce from all heat and whisk in 1 teaspoon of cold cream. Ça se rattrape.

5. 5

   Nap and serve

   Arrange the fillets down the center of the warm platter, overlapping them slightly so they read as one generous dish rather than four separate plates. Surround them with the walnut-sized potato balls. Spoon the sauce au vin blanc over the sole until every fillet is evenly napped, leaving the potatoes visible. Stir the sauce crevettes until fluid, then draw a fine coral thread across the potato garnish with the edge of a teaspoon. Serve immediately, while both sauces still hold their gloss. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Dover sole has the finest texture here, but lemon sole or flounder will carry the preparation honestly. Thin fillets cook sooner, so begin checking them after 3 minutes. Technique first, always.
• •Use a clean, pale fumet made from white-fish bones, never salmon, mackerel, or another oily fish. A bought fumet is acceptable if it tastes of fish rather than salt; dilute it before the pan if it is aggressively seasoned.
• •Buy shell-on shrimp. The shells give sauce crevettes its coral color and much of its flavor, while the flesh gives it body. Peeled shrimp alone make a pale, quieter sauce.
• •Waxy potatoes are essential because the balls must stay whole. Floury potatoes fray at the edges and cloud the water before their centers cook.
• •Do not add parsley, lemon slices, or another reflex garnish. The white sauce, coral thread, and exact potato ring are the finish the source specifies.
• •Pour a dry, mineral white wine with the dish, such as Muscadet or a restrained Chablis. Avoid heavily oaked wine, which crowds the delicate fumet and shrimp.

Advance Preparation

• •Have the fish fumet finished before beginning. It may be refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen in measured portions.
• •Shape the potato balls up to 4 hours ahead and keep them fully submerged in cold water. Drain and cook them shortly before the sole.
• •The sauce crevettes may be prepared up to 4 hours ahead, chilled promptly, and reheated in a bowl over warm water. Whisk in a teaspoon of cold cream if it tightens.
• •Poach the sole and make the sauce au vin blanc only when you are ready to serve. Delicate sole does not improve by waiting, and the mounted sauce should never be held over direct heat.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 450g)