Dover Sole à la Bonne Femme with Fish Fumet

Ingredients

• 0.0075 g Dover sole (600–800 g; cleaned and prepared on the bone)
• 500 g Flat fish frames (Clean, washed, and free of blood)
• 2 Celery stalks (Cut up)
• 0.5 Onion (Cut up)
• 0.5 Leek (Cut up)
• Soft fine herbs (Parsley, dill, or tarragon)
• 0.5 Lemon (Sliced)
• 1 Star anise
• 1 Banana shallot (Peeled and sliced)
• 10 g Thyme (Fresh)
• 20 ml Soy sauce
• 20 ml Truffle juice
• 300 ml Mushroom stock
• 300 ml Fish stock
• 20 g Butter
• Salt (To taste)
• Double cream (Amount not specified; added to finish the sauce)
• Crème fraîche (Amount not specified; added to finish the sauce)
• Chives (Finely cut; amount not specified)
• Mushroom purée (To serve; amount not specified)
• Pickled mushrooms (For garnish; amount not specified)
• Sea purslane (For garnish; amount not specified)

Steps

1. 1

   Clean and dry the Dover sole. Remove the head and clean the cavity. Cut down the centre from head to tail without cutting through; use scissors to cut through the bones and remove the spine. Rinse in cold water, drain, and store on dry kitchen towel.

2. 2

   Wash the fish frames until clean. Put them in a heavy-based stock pan with the cut celery, onion, and leek, then bring to the boil.

3. 3

   Skim the fumet well, then simmer for 20 minutes, skimming often.

4. 4

   Remove the pan from the heat. Add the soft fine herbs, sliced lemon, and star anise, then leave to infuse for 20 minutes.

5. 5

   Pass the fumet carefully through muslin and a chinois, leaving the sediment behind.

6. 6

   Preheat the oven to 170°C (340°F). Place the prepared Dover sole in a pan large enough to braise it comfortably.

7. 7

   Add the sliced banana shallot, thyme, soy sauce, truffle juice, mushroom stock, fish stock, butter, and salt. Cover the pan with a cartouche.

8. 8

   Transfer the pan to the oven and braise for 8–12 minutes, depending on the size of the fish. Let the fish rest in the liquor for 6–8 minutes.

9. 9

   Lift the fish from the pan and reserve it on a plate. Begin reducing the cooking liquor until it is reduced by about two-thirds.

10. 10

    Add double cream and crème fraîche to finish the sauce, then reduce the sauce by half.

11. 11

    Remove the fish from the bone carefully, checking for and removing any small bones.

12. 12

    Reheat the fish gently if needed; the heat of the hot sauce should be sufficient to warm it.

13. 13

    Pass the sauce through a fine sieve and finish with finely cut chives.

14. 14

    Spoon the sauce over the fish. Serve with mushroom purée and garnish with pickled mushrooms and sea purslane.

Notes

The source does not specify quantities for the double cream, crème fraîche, chives, mushroom purée, pickled mushrooms, or sea purslane. It also gives no exact fish stock, mushroom stock, or fumet yield. Transcript mentions an oven at 180°C and about 11 minutes, but the written post recipe specifies 170°C and 8–12 minutes; the written recipe is followed here.

Nutrition per serving

• main
• seafood
• French-inspired
• braised
• oven-cooked
• fish
• special occasion