Chapter XIV: Fish (2)

Cover the sole immediately with very hot fried bread-crumbs, and add thereto a pinch of chopped parsley.

828—SOLE A LA FERMIÈRE

Put the sole, seasoned, on a buttered dish with a few aromatics. Add one-third pint of excellent red wine, and poach gently with lid on.

Dish up; strain the cooking-liquor, and reduce it to half; thicken it with a lump of _manied_ butter the size of a hazel-nut, and finish the sauce with one oz. of butter.

Encircle the sole with a border of mushrooms sliced raw and tossed in butter. Pour the prepared sauce over the sole, and set to glaze quickly.

829—SOLE A LA HOLLANDAISE

Break the spine of the sole by folding it over in several places. Put the fish in a deep dish; cover it with slightly salted water; set to boil, and then poach gently for ten minutes with lid on.

Drain and dish on a napkin with very green parsley all round. Serve at the same time some plainly boiled potatoes, freshly done, and two oz. of melted butter.

830—SOLE SAINT-GERMAIN

Season the sole; dip it in melted butter, and cover it with fresh bread-crumbs, taking care to pat the latter with the flat of a knife, in order that they may combine with the butter to form a kind of crust. Sprinkle with some more melted butter, and grill the fish gently so that its coating of bread-crumbs may acquire a nice golden colour. Dish the sole, and surround it with potatoes turned to the shape of olives, and cooked in butter.

Send a Béarnaise sauce to the table separately.

831—SOLE FLORENTINE

Poach the sole in a fish _fumet_ and butter. Spread a layer of shredded spinach, stewed in butter, on the bottom of a dish; place the sole thereon; cover it with Mornay sauce; sprinkle with a little grated cheese, and set to glaze quickly in the oven or at a salamander.

832—SOLE MONTREUIL

Poach the sole in one-sixth pint of fish _fumet_, one-sixth pint of white wine, and one-half oz. of butter.

Drain as soon as poached, and surround with potato-balls the size of walnuts, cooked in salted water, and kept whole. Cover the sole with white-wine sauce, and lay a thread of shrimp sauce over the garnish.

833—SOLE AU GRATIN

Partly separate the fillets from the bones on the upper side of the fish, and slip a lump of butter, the size of a walnut, under each.

This done, place the sole on a well-buttered gratin dish, on the bottom of which a pinch of chopped shallots and parsley has been sprinkled, together with one or two tablespoonfuls of Gratin sauce.

Lay four cooked mushrooms along the sole, and surround it with one oz. of raw mushrooms, cut into rather thin slices.

Add two tablespoonfuls of white wine; cover the sole with Gratin sauce; sprinkle with fine raspings followed by melted butter, and set the _gratin_ to form in pursuance of the directions given under complete Gratin (No. 269).

When taking the sole from the oven, sprinkle a few drops of lemon juice and a pinch of chopped parsley upon it, and serve at once.

834—SOLE AU CHAMBERTIN

Season the sole and poach it on a buttered dish with one-third pint of Chambertin wine.

As soon as it is poached, drain it, dish it, and keep it hot. Reduce the cooking-liquor to half, add thereto a little freshly-ground pepper and two or three drops of lemon-juice, thicken with a lump of _manied_ butter the size of a walnut, and finish the sauce with one and one-half oz. of butter.

Cover the sole with the sauce, set to glaze quickly, and garnish both sides of the dish with a little heap of _julienne_ of filleted sole, seasoned, dredged, and tossed in clarified butter at the last moment so that it may be very crisp.

835—Remarks concerning “SOLES AUX GRANDS VINS”

Taking recipe No. 834 as a model, and putting into requisition all the good wines of Burgundy and Bordeaux, the following varieties are obtained, viz.:—Soles au Volnay, au Pommard, au Romanée, au Clos-Vougeot, or soles au Saint-Estèphe, au Château-Larose, au Saint-Émilion, &c., &c.

836—SOLE MONTGOLFIER

Poach the sole in one-sixth pint of white wine and as much of the cooking-liquor of mushrooms. Drain, dish, and cover it with a white wine sauce combined with the reduced cooking-liquor of the sole and one tablespoonful of a fine _julienne_ of spiny lobster’s tail, mushrooms, and very black truffles. Surround the sole with a border of little _palmettes_ made from puff-paste and cooked without colouration.

837—SOLE SUR LE PLAT

Partly separate the fillets from the bones on the upper side of the fish, and slip a piece of butter the size of a walnut under each.

Lay the sole on a liberally buttered dish, moisten with one-fifth pint of the cooking-liquor of fish, and add a few drops of lemon-juice.

Cook in the oven, basting often the while, until the cooking-liquor has by reduction acquired the consistence of a syrup and covers the sole with a translucent and glossy coat.

N.B.—By substituting for the mushroom cooking-liquor a good white or red wine, to which a little melted pale meat-glaze has been added, the following series of dishes may be prepared, viz.:—+Sole sur le plat au Chambertin+. +Sole sur le plat au vin rouge+. +Sole sur le plat au Champagne+. +Sole sur le plat au Chablis+, &c., &c.

838—SOLE RÉGENCE

Poach the sole in a little white wine and two-thirds oz. of butter cut into small pieces.

Drain the sole, dish it, and surround it with six quenelles of whiting forcemeat finished with crayfish butter, moulded by means of a small spoon; four poached oysters (cleared of their beards); four small cooked and very white mushrooms; four small truffles, turned to the shape of olives; and four small poached slices of milt. Cover the sole and the garnish with a Normande sauce finished with a little truffle essence.

839—SOLE PORTUGAISE

Poach the sole in white wine and the cooking-liquor of fish. Drain, dish, and surround with a garnish consisting of two medium-sized tomatoes, peeled, pressed, minced, cooked in butter, and combined with minced and cooked mushrooms, and a large pinch of chopped chives.

Coat the sole with white wine sauce, plentifully buttered, and take care that none of the sauce touches the garnish.

Set to glaze quickly, sprinkle the garnish with a pinch of chopped parsley when taking the sole from the oven, and serve immediately.

840—SOLE CUBAT

Poach the sole in one-fifth pint of the cooking-liquor of mushrooms and one-half oz. of butter cut into small pieces.

Coat the bottom of the dish intended for the sole with a purée of mushrooms, place the drained sole on this purée, lay six fine slices of truffle along the fish, coat with Mornay sauce, sprinkle with cheese, and glaze quickly.

841—SOLE AUX HUÎTRES

Open and poach six oysters. Poach the sole in the liquor of the oysters, drain it, dish it, and surround it with the oysters (cleared of their beards).

Coat with a white wine sauce combined with the reduced cooking-liquor of the sole, and glaze quickly.

842—SOLE A LA MEUNIÈRE

Proceed for this dish as directed under “Fish à la Meunière” (No. 778).

843—SOLE MEUNIÈRE AUX CONCOMBRES, otherwise DORIA

Prepare a sole à la Meunière. Garnish it at both ends with little heaps of cucumber, turned and cooked in butter with a little salt and a pinch of sugar.

844—SOLE MEUNIÈRE AUX AUBERGINES

Prepare a sole à la Meunière in the usual way. Surround it with a fine border of egg-plant rundles one-third inch thick, seasoned, dredged, and fried in clarified butter, just in time to be arranged round the sole when it is ready. The question of time is important, for if the fried rundles be allowed to wait at all they very quickly lose their crispness.

845—SOLE MEUNIÈRE AUX CÈPES

Prepare the sole à la Meunière in the usual way and surround it with a border of sliced _cèpes_ frizzled in butter just before dishing up.

846—SOLE MEUNIÈRE AUX MORILLES

Surround the sole with very fresh morels cooked in salted water and then tossed in butter just before dishing up. Sprinkle a pinch of chopped parsley over the morels.

847—SOLE MEUNIÈRE AUX RAISINS

The sole being ready, encircle it with fresh skinned Muscadel grapes prepared in advance.

848—SOLE MEUNIÈRE A L’ORANGE

When the sole is cooked and dished, lay thereon a row of orange slices, peeled to the pulp and thoroughly pipped, or some sections of oranges, likewise peeled to the pulp and carefully pipped. This done, cover the sole and the garnish with lightly-browned butter and serve instantly.

849—SOLE LUTÈCE

Line the bottom of the dish intended for the sole with a coating of shredded spinach tossed in lightly-browned butter. Place the sole, prepared à la Meunière, upon this spinach; lay a few rundles of onion and slices of artichoke-bottom tossed in butter upon the fish; and on either side of the sole lay a border of potato-slices, freshly cooked in salted water and well browned in butter.

At the last moment cover the whole with lightly-browned butter.

850—SOLE MURAT

Toss in butter, separately (1) one medium-sized potato cut into dice; (2) two small raw artichoke-bottoms, likewise cut into dice. Prepare the sole à la Meunière, dish it, and surround it with the tossed potato and artichoke-bottom, mixed when cooked. Lay on the sole five slices of tomato, one-half inch thick, seasoned, dredged, and tossed in very hot oil; sprinkle a few drops of pale melted meat-glaze, a little lemon-juice, and a pinch of _concassed_ parsley over the sole, and cover the whole with slightly-browned butter. Serve instantly.

851—SOLE A LA PROVENÇALE

Poach the sole in one-sixth pint of fish _fumet_, two tablespoonfuls of oil and a piece, the size of a pea, of garlic, well crushed. Drain and dish the sole. Coat it with Provençale sauce combined with the reduced cooking-liquor, and sprinkle a little _concassed_ parsley over it.

Surround the sole with four little tomatoes and four medium-sized mushrooms stuffed with duxelles flavoured with a mite of garlic; these latter should be put in the oven just in time for them to be ready at the dishing up of the fish.

852—SOLE ARLÉSIENNE

Poach the sole in a little fish _fumet_. Dish it, reduce the _fumet_, and add thereto the following garnish:—Cook a little chopped onion in butter, add two medium-sized, peeled, emptied, and _concassed_ tomatoes, a bit of garlic, and some _concassed_ parsley. Cook with lid on, add the reduced _fumet_ and twelve pieces of vegetable-marrow, turned to the shape of olives and cooked in butter.

Cover the sole with this garnish and set a little heap of fried onion at each end of the dish.

853—SOLE A LA ROYALE

Poach the sole in a few tablespoonfuls of fish _fumet_ and two-thirds oz. of butter cut into small lumps. Dish the sole and set upon it four small cooked mushrooms, four small quenelles of fish forcemeat, four crayfishes’ tails, and four slices of truffle.

Surround the sole with potato-balls, raised by means of the round spoon-cutter and cooked _à l’anglaise_, and coat the sole and garnish with Normande sauce.

854—SOLE A LA RUSSE

Prepare twelve grooved and very thin roundels of carrots, cut a small onion into fine slices. Put these vegetables into and cut a small onion into fine slices. Put these vegetables into one-seventh pint of white wine, and one-third pint of fish _fumet_. Cook and, in the process, reduce the moistening by half, and pour this preparation into a deep dish.

Partly separate the fillets from the bones on the upper side of the sole, slip a piece of butter, the size of a walnut, under each fillet, and put the fish into a deep dish containing the preparation. Poach and baste frequently the while.

As soon as it is poached, dish the sole, also the vegetables used in cooking, and keep the whole hot.

Reduce the cooking-liquor to one-eighth pint, add a few drops of lemon juice, and finish it away from the fire with one and one-half oz. of butter. Coat the sole and the garnish with this sauce.

855—SOLE RICHELIEU

Prepare the sole exactly as directed under “Sole à la Colbert” (No. 822). When it is fried, remove the bones and dish it. Garnish the inside with butter à la maître-d’hôtel, and lay thereon a row of sliced truffles.

856—SOLE NORMANDE

Poach the sole on a buttered dish with one-sixth pint of fish _fumet_, and the same quantity of the cooking-liquor of mushrooms. Drain and dish the sole, and surround it with mussels, poached oysters (cleared of their beards), shrimps’ tails, and small cooked mushrooms. Put the sole in the oven for a few minutes, tilt the dish in order to get rid of all liquid, and coat the sole and the garnish with Normande sauce. Make a little garland of pale meat-glaze on the sauce, and finish the garnish with the following articles:—Six fine slices of truffle set in a row upon the sole; six small crusts in the shape of lozenges, fried in clarified butter and arranged round the truffles; four gudgeons treated _à l’anglaise_ and fried at the last moment; and four medium-sized trussed crayfish cooked in _court-bouillon_.

Set the gudgeons and the crayfish round the dish.

857—SOLE MARGUERY

Poach the sole in white wine and fish _fumet_ in the proportions already given.

Drain and dish the sole, and surround it with a border of mussels and shrimps’ tails. Coat the sole and the garnish with white wine sauce, well finished with butter, and set to glaze quickly.

858—SOLE MARINIÈRE

Liberally butter a dish, sprinkle a coffeespoonful of chopped shallots on the bottom, lay the sole thereon, and poach the latter with one-sixth pint of white wine and the same quantity of the very clear cooking-liquor of mussels. Drain and dish the sole, surround it with mussels (cleared of their beards), and keep it hot.

Reduce the cooking-liquor to half; thicken with a tablespoonful of velouté, and the yolks of two eggs, and finish it, away from the fire, with two and one-half oz. of butter and a pinch of chopped parsley.

Tilt the dish so as to rid it of the liquid accumulated on the bottom, coat the sole and the garnish with the prepared sauce, and glaze quickly.

859—SOLE AU VIN BLANC

Partly separate the fillets from the bones on the upper side of the sole, and slip a piece of butter, as large as a walnut, under each fillet. Lay the sole in a dish, the bottom of which should be buttered and garnished with a small onion, chopped. Moisten with one-quarter pint of ordinary white wine, as much fish _fumet_, and a few tablespoonfuls of the cooking-liquor of mushrooms. Poach gently with lid on.

Drain and dish the sole, and coat it with a white wine sauce, prepared in accordance with one of the methods given in the chapter on Sauces (No. 111). Glaze quickly, or serve without glazing.

N.B.—“Sole au Vin Blanc” may be prepared after the above recipe, but ordinary white wine may be replaced by one of the Rhine wines or Moselle, by some Johannisberg, or by a good white Burgundy or Bordeaux wine, such as Chablis-Moutonne, Savigny, Montrachet, Barsac, Sauternes, and even Château-Yquem or Château-Latour.

In any of these cases the name of the wine may be mentioned, and on the menu may be written +Sole au Barsac+, +Sole au Château-Yquem+, &c.

860—SOLE DIEPPOISE

Poach the sole with one-sixth pint of fish _fumet_ and a few tablespoonfuls of the cooking-liquor of mussels.

Drain and dish the sole, surround it with poached mussels (shelled and cleared of their beards) and shrimps’ tails, and coat the fish and the garnish with a white wine sauce combined with the reduced cooking-liquor.

861—SOLE DIPLOMATE

Poach the sole in very clear fish _fumet_.

Drain it, dish it, and coat it with Diplomate sauce.

Set upon it a row of six fine slices of black truffle; these should have been previously glazed with pale meat-glaze.

862—SOLE BONNE FEMME

Butter the bottom of the dish intended for the sole, and besprinkle it with two chopped shallots, one pinch of parsley, and one and one-half oz. of raw minced mushrooms. Lay the sole upon this garnish, moisten with one-quarter pint of white wine and as much fish _fumet_, and poach gently, taking care to baste from time to time.

When the sole is poached, drain off the cooking-liquor into a vegetable-pan, and reduce it quickly to half; effect the leason with two tablespoonfuls of fish velouté, and finish the sauce with two oz. of butter. Coat the sole with this sauce and set it to glaze in a fierce oven or at a salamander.

863—SOLE PARISIENNE

Poach the sole in white wine, the cooking-liquor of mushrooms, and some butter. Drain it thoroughly, dish it, and coat it with white wine sauce combined with the reduced cooking-liquor of the sole. Garnish with a row of six slices of truffle and six fine roundels of cooked mushrooms kept very white, and finish with four medium-sized trussed crayfish.

864—SOLE NANTUA

Poach the sole in one-sixth pint of fish _fumet_ and a few tablespoonfuls of the cooking-liquor of mushrooms.

Drain and dish the sole, surround it with twelve shelled crayfishes’ tails, and coat it with Nantua sauce.

Lay a row of very black truffle slices along the middle of the fish.

FILLETS OF SOLE

Subject to the kind of dish required, fillets of sole are either kept in their natural state, they are stuffed and folded over, or they are simply folded over without being stuffed, each of which methods of preparation will be specially referred to in the recipes.

Whatever be the method adopted, always skin the fillets thoroughly; _i.e._, remove the thin membrane which lies beneath the skin, the tendency of which, during the cooking process, is to shrink and thereby disfigure the fillet.

This done, flatten out the fillets with the broad side of a wet knife, and trim them slightly if necessary. The poaching of fillets of sole must be effected without allowing the cooking-liquor to boil, the object being to prevent the pieces losing their shape. Fillets should also be kept very white.

In cases where the exact amount of the poaching-liquor is not given, allow one-quarter pint to every four fillets, _i.e._, to every sole.

865—FILETS DE SOLES AMÉRICAINE

Arrange the folded fillets in a deep, buttered dish, and poach them in fish _fumet_.

Drain, and dish them in the form of an oval, letting them overlap one another with their tail-ends hidden. Garnish the centre of the dish with slices of lobster prepared à l’américaine (No. 939), and coat the whole with the lobster’s sauce.

866—FILETS DE SOLES ANGLAISE

Treat the fillets _à l’anglaise_ with fresh and fine bread-crumbs. Pat the bread-crumbs over the egg with the flat of a knife, that the two may be well combined; and, with the back of a knife, criss-cross the coating of the fillets.

Cook them gently in clarified butter. Serve on a hot dish, and sprinkle the fillets with half-melted butter à la maître-d’hôtel.

867—FILETS DE SOLES ANDALOUSE

Coat the upper sides of the fillets with fish forcemeat combined, per pound, with three oz. of chopped capsicum. Roll them up, after the manner of a scroll (see No. 914), and smooth the forcemeat on the top. Poach the fillets in butter and fish _fumet_.

The following should have been prepared beforehand:—(1) As many small half-tomatoes, stewed in butter and garnished by means of rizotto with capsicums, as there are fillets of sole; (2) the same number of roundels of egg-plant, seasoned, dredged, and fried in oil.

When dishing, arrange the roundels of egg-plant round the dish; place a stuffed tomato on each roundel of egg-plant, and a poached fillet of sole upon each tomato. Sprinkle with lightly-browned butter, and serve at once.

868—FILETS DE SOLES CAPRICE

Dip the fillets in melted, seasoned butter, and then roll them in fresh and fine bread-crumbs. Pat the bread-crumbs with the flat of the knife, and with the back of the same instrument criss-cross the surface of the fillets. Sprinkle with melted butter, and set to grill gently, taking care that the coating of bread-crumbs acquires a nice, light-brown colour.

Lay on each grilled fillet the half of a peeled banana, cooked in butter, and send to the table, separately, a Roberts sauce Escoffier, finished with butter.

869—FILETS DE SOLES CATALANE

Poach, in the oven, as many emptied and seasoned half-tomatoes as there are fillets of sole. Cook some very finely-minced onion in oil, without letting it acquire any colour, and allow one tablespoonful of the onion to each half-tomato.

Fold the fillets of sole, and poach them in fish _fumet_ just a few minutes before dishing them. Garnish the half-tomatoes with onion; arrange them in a circle on a dish, and place a fillet of sole upon each. Quickly reduce the cooking-liquor of the fillets, and finish it with butter in the proportion of one oz. per one-eighth pint of reduced _fumet_.

Coat the fillets and set to glaze quickly.

870—FILETS DE SOLES CLARENCE

Fold the fillets, and poach them in fish _fumet_.

They may be dished after the two following methods:—

1. Put a preparation of Duchesse potatoes in a piping-bag fitted with a large, grooved pipe, and describe therewith an ornamental design containing as many divisions as there are fillets of sole. Lightly _gild_ and brown in the oven. This design, consisting of scroll-work, should be prepared before poaching the fillets. Lay a fillet in each division of the design, and coat with American sauce, prepared with curry and combined with the meat of the lobster (cut into small dice) which has served in the preparation of the sauce. Take care that no sauce touches the scroll-work, which should remain well-defined.

2. Bake some large potatoes in the oven. Open them; remove their pulp, and put into each baked shell a tablespoonful of American sauce au currie referred to above. Add a poached fillet of sole; coat with American sauce; dish these garnished potatoes on a napkin, and serve very hot.

871—FILETS DE SOLES AUX CHAMPIGNONS

Stew two oz. of small mushrooms in butter. Fold the fillets, and poach them in one-sixth pint of the cooking-liquor of mushrooms, and a piece of butter the size of a walnut. Arrange the fillets in an oval, and garnish the centre of the dish with the stewed mushrooms.

Reduce the cooking-liquor of the fillets to one-third; add thereto two tablespoonfuls of velouté; finish the sauce with one oz. of butter, and coat the fillets and the garnish.

872—FILETS DE SOLES AUX CREVETTES

Fold the fillets, and poach them in fish _fumet_.

Dish them in an oval; garnish the middle with one oz. of shelled shrimps’ tails, kept very hot, and coat the fillets and the garnish with shrimp sauce.

873—FILETS DE SOLES CHAUCHAT

Poach the fillets of sole, folded, in butter and lemon juice.

Coat the bottom of a dish with Mornay sauce, and set the fillets of sole thereon in the form of an oval. Surround the fish with roundels of cooked potatoes turned to the shape of corks.

Cover the fillets and the garnish with Mornay sauce, and glaze quickly in a fierce oven or at the salamander.

874—FILETS DE SOLES BERCY

Butter the bottom of the dish intended for the soles, and sprinkle it with two finely-chopped shallots. Lay the fillets lengthwise upon the dish, side by side; moisten with three tablespoonfuls of white wine and as much fish _fumet_, and add one-half oz. of butter cut into small pieces.

Cook in the oven, basting frequently the while, and glaze at the last minute. Besprinkle with a few drops of lemon juice, and when about to serve drop a pinch of chopped parsley upon each fillet.

_Or_, poach the fillets with chopped shallots, and increase the moistening. As soon as the fillets are ready, drain off their cooking-liquor into a vegetable-pan; reduce it speedily to one-third, and add a few drops of meat-glaze, a little lemon juice, one-half oz. of butter, and one pinch of chopped parsley.

Coat the fillets, and set to glaze quickly.

N.B.—Sole à la Bercy may be prepared after either of the two methods.

875—FILETS DE SOLES DEJAZET

Treat the fillets of sole _à l’anglaise_ and grill them as explained under No. 830.

Dish them, cover them thinly with half-melted tarragon butter, and deck each fillet with five or six parboiled, tarragon leaves.

876—FILETS DE SOLES GRAND DUC

Fold the fillets of soles over, and poach them in fish _fumet_ and the cooking-liquor of mushrooms. Arrange them in an oval on a dish, with their tails pointing inwards; place a fine slice of truffle in the middle of each fillet, and between each of the latter three shelled crayfishes’ tails.

Coat with Mornay sauce, and set to glaze quickly.

When taking the dish from the oven, set in its centre a fine heap of very green asparagus-heads, cohered with butter at the moment of dishing.

877—FILETS DE SOLES JOINVILLE

Select some fine fillets of soles; fold them, and poach them in the cooking-liquor of mushrooms, and butter, taking care to keep them very white. Arrange them in an oval, with their tails pointing upwards and the carapace of a crayfish fixed on each fillet; and garnish the middle of the dish with a _salpicon_ or a short _julienne_, consisting of one and one-half oz. of cooked mushrooms, one-half oz. of truffle, and one and one-half oz. of shrimps’ tails cohered by means of a few tablespoonfuls of Joinville sauce. Coat the fillets and the garnish with the same sauce, and deck each fillet with a fine slice of truffle coated with meat-glaze.

They may also be served after the old-fashioned way, as follows:—

Set the garnish in the middle of the dish, shaping it like a dome; coat it with Joinville sauce, and surround it with the fillets of sole, which should slightly overlap one another and have their tails uppermost. Fix a carapace of crayfish on the tail of each fillet, and deck each with a slice of very black truffle.

With this method of dishing, the garnish alone is coated with sauce, the fillets thus forming a white, encircling border.

878—FILETS DE SOLES JUDIC

Fold, and poach the fillets in butter and lemon juice.

Arrange them in an oval round a dish, laying each upon a nice little braised and trimmed half lettuce, and place upon each fillet a quenelle of sole _mousseline_-forcemeat in the shape of a flattened oval, poached at the time of dishing up.

Coat with Mornay sauce and glaze quickly. When taking the dish out of the oven, encircle the fillets of sole with a thread of buttered meat-glaze.

879—FILETS DE SOLES A LA HONGROISE

Fry in butter, without colouration, one small tablespoonful of chopped onion seasoned with a very little paprika; moisten with three tablespoonfuls of white wine and one-sixth pint of fish _fumet_; add two small peeled, pressed, and roughly-chopped tomatoes, and set to cook for seven or eight minutes.

Fold the fillets of sole; lay them on a buttered dish; pour the above preparation thereon, and poach them. Arrange them in a circle on a dish; reduce their cooking-liquor to a stiff consistence; add a few tablespoonfuls of cream and a few drops of lemon juice, and coat the fillets with this sauce.

880—FILETS DE SOLES LADY EGMONT

Fold the fillets, and poach them in a few tablespoonfuls of excellent fish _fumet_.

Also for every four fillets (_i.e._, per sole) finely mince one oz. of well-cleaned mushrooms, and cook them quickly in butter, lemon juice, a little salt, and pepper. This done, add the cooking-liquor to the fish _fumet_, and keep the cooked minced mushrooms hot.

Reduce the combined cooking-liquor and fish _fumet_ to half; add thereto one oz. of butter and two tablespoonfuls of cream; and to the resulting sauce add the reserved minced mushrooms and two tablespoonfuls of freshly-cooked and well-drained asparagus-heads, uncooled.

Serve the fillets of sole on an earthenware dish, coat them with the above garnish, and set to glaze quickly in a fierce oven or at the salamander.

881—FILETS DE SOLES MARINETTE

Poach a sole in fish _fumet_ and the cooking-liquor of mushrooms, and drain it on a napkin. When it is still lukewarm, carefully raise its fillets and trim them.

Break an egg into a bowl; beat it well, and add enough grated Gruyère and Parmesan to it (mixed in equal quantities) to produce a dense paste. Mix a dessertspoonful of cold Béchamel sauce with this paste; add salt and cayenne pepper; spread an even thickness of one inch of it over two of the fillets of sole; lay thereon the two remaining fillets, and put aside in the cool.

When the egg and cheese paste is very stiff, dip the fillets in a Villeroy sauce, and leave the latter to cool. Then treat the stuffed and sauced fillets _à l’anglaise_, and fry them, just before serving, in very hot fat.

Dish on a napkin with very green parsley all round.

882—FILETS DE SOLES MARIE STUART

Fold the fillets, and poach them in fish _fumet_. Arrange them in an oval on a dish; coat them with the sauce given under “Filets de soles à la New-burg” (No. 890), and place on each fillet a quenelle of fish forcemeat in the shape of a quoit and decked with a slice of truffle. These quenelles should, if possible, be poached just before dishing up, and well drained before being laid on the fillets of sole.

883—FILETS DE SOLES MIGNONETTE

Cook the fillets in butter, and set them in a hot timbale.

Surround them with potato-balls the size of peas, raised by means of the round spoon-cutter, and cooked beforehand in butter.

Lay upon the fillets eight or ten slices of fresh truffle heated in one-sixth pint of very light meat-glaze.

Finish the glaze in which the slices of truffle have been heated with two-thirds oz. of butter and a few drops of lemon juice, and pour it over the fillets and their garnish. Serve very hot.

884—FILETS DE SOLES MIMI

Divide a live lobster into two, lengthwise, and prepare it à l’américaine, taking care to keep the sauce short.

When the lobster is cooked, take the meat from the tail; cut it into as many slices as there are fillets of sole, and keep them hot.

Remove all the meat from the claws, and that remaining in the carcass; pound all of it smoothly, add two tablespoonfuls of cream, and rub through a fine sieve. Prepare a garnish of spaghetti with cream, and add thereto the purée of lobster.

Fold the fillets of sole, and poach them in Chablis wine and butter. All this being done, lay the two emptied halves of the lobster on a napkin lying on a dish, setting them back to back. Fill these lobster shells to the brim with the prepared garnish of spaghetti. Upon this garnish lay the poached fillets of sole, sandwiching a slice of lobster between every two; besprinkle the whole with a short and fine _julienne_ of very black truffle.

Send the lobster sauce, finished with a few tablespoonfuls of cream, to the table separately. Proceed as quickly as possible with the dishing up, in order that the dish may reach the table very hot.

885—FILETS DE SOLES MEXICAINE

Coat the fillets with fish forcemeat, and roll them to resemble scrolls (see No. 914). Poach them in fish _fumet_ as directed for the _paupiettes_. Lay each rolled fillet in a grilled mushroom garnished with one-half tablespoonful of peeled, pressed, and _concassed_ tomato cooked in butter, and arrange them in an oval on a dish.

Coat them with Béchamel sauce combined with a purée of tomatoes and capsicums cut into small dice, in the proportion of two tablespoonfuls of the purée and two-thirds oz. of the capsicums per pint of the sauce.

886—FILETS DE SOLES MIRABEAU

Poach the fillets, left in their natural state, in fish _fumet_.

Dish them and coat with white wine and Genevoise sauces, alternating the two, white and brown. Lay a thin strip of anchovy fillet between each of the fillets of sole; deck those of the latter coated with white sauce with a slice of truffle, and those coated with brown sauce with a star of _blanched_ tarragon leaves.

887—FILETS DE SOLES MIRAMAR

Divide each of the fillets into slices; season them and cook them in butter. Cut fifteen roundels (one-third inch thick) of egg-plant; season, dredge, and toss them in butter, taking care to keep them very crisp.

Take a timbale of suitable size, and line its sides with a layer (three-quarters inch thick) of pilaff rice.

Put the roundels of egg-plant and the sliced fillets of sole (mixed and tossed together for a moment) in the middle of the dish.

Just before serving, sprinkle with one oz. of lightly-browned butter.

888—FILETS DE SOLES AUX HUÎTRES

Open and poach twelve oysters. Poach the fillets of sole, folded, in the oyster liquor strained through linen, and a piece of butter as large as a walnut.

Arrange in an oval on a dish; garnish the centre with the poached oysters (cleared of their beards), and coat the fillets of sole and the oysters with Normande sauce combined with the reduced cooking-liquor of the fillets.

889—FILETS DE SOLES NELSON

Fold the fillets, and poach them in fish _fumet_.

Arrange them in a circle on a dish; coat them with white-wine sauce, and glaze quickly.

Garnish the centre of the dish with a pyramid of potato-balls cooked in butter and of a light-brown colour. Surround the fillets with poached milt.

890—FILETS DE SOLES NEW-BURG

Prepare a lobster à la New-burg, in accordance with one of the recipes given (No. 948 and 949). Cut the tail into as many slices as there are fillets of sole, and keep them hot.

Cut the remainder of the lobster meat into dice, and add these to the sauce. Fold the fillets of sole, and poach them in fish _fumet_. Arrange them in an oval on a dish; lay a slice of lobster upon each fillet, and coat with the lobster-sauce combined with the dice, prepared as directed above.

891—FILETS DE SOLES ORIENTALE

Prepare the fillets exactly as those à la New-burg, but season the sauce with curry.

Having dished and sauced the fillets, set a pyramid of rice à l’Indienne in the middle of the dish, or send the rice to the table separately, in a timbale; either way will be found to answer.

892—FILETS DE SOLES PERSANE

Prepare the fillets as in the case of those à la New-burg, but season the sauce with paprika, and add thereto one oz. of capsicums cut into large dice. Send some pilaff rice with saffron to the table separately.

893—FILETS DE SOLES ORLY

Season the fillets; dip them into batter and, a few minutes before serving, put them into very hot fat. Drain them; dish them on a napkin with fried parsley, and serve a tomato sauce separately.

N.B.—There are several ways of preparing these fillets of sole. Thus they may be simply dipped in milk, dredged, and impaled on a _hatelet_. They may also be _marinaded_, treated _à l’anglaise_, and twisted into cork-screw shape.

Always, however, dish them on a napkin with fried parsley and, in every case, send a tomato sauce to the table separately.

This last accompaniment is essential.

894—FILETS DE SOLES OLGA, otherwise “OTERO”

Bake beforehand, in the oven, as many fine, well-washed potatoes as there are fillets of sole. As soon as they are done, remove a piece of the baked shell, and withdraw the pulp in such wise as to leave nothing but the long, parched shells. Fold the fillets, and poach them with a little excellent fish _fumet_. Garnish the bottom of each prepared shell with a tablespoonful of shelled shrimps’ tails, cohered with a white-wine sauce.

Put a poached fillet of sole upon this garnish; cover with sufficient Mornay sauce to completely fill the shell; sprinkle with grated cheese, and glaze quickly. Dish on a napkin the moment the fillets have been taken from the oven, and serve immediately.

895—FILETS DE SOLES POLIGNAC

Fold the fillets, and poach them in one-quarter pint of white wine, a few tablespoonfuls of the cooking-liquor of mushrooms, and a piece of butter about the size of a walnut.

Dish the fillets in an oval. Reduce the cooking-liquor to half; thicken it by means of two tablespoonfuls, bare, of fish velouté; finish the sauce with one oz. of butter, and add thereto three small, cooked, finely-minced mushrooms, and one tablespoonful of a _julienne_ of truffles.

Coat the fillets with sauce, and set to glaze.

896—FILETS DE SOLES PAYSANNE

For the fillets of soles, cut two small carrots, two new onions, a stick of celery, and the white of one leek in _paysanne_ fashion. Season these vegetables with a very little table-salt and a pinch of sugar; stew them in butter; moisten sufficiently to cover them with lukewarm water; and add a few pieces of broccoli, a tablespoonful of peas, and the same quantity of French beans cut into lozenges.

Complete the cooking of the vegetables while reducing the cooking-liquor. Season the fillets of sole, and lay them on a buttered earthenware dish. Pour thereon the garnish of vegetables; put the cover on the dish, and gently poach the fillets.

When they are cooked, tilt the dish so as to pour all the liquor away into a vegetable-pan; this done, reduce the liquor to one-fifth pint, and add to it three oz. of butter.

Pour this sauce into the dish containing the fillets and the vegetable garnish, and serve immediately.

897—FILETS DE SOLES EN PILAW A LA LEVANTINE

Cut the fillets into collops, and toss these in butter. Prepare some pilaff rice after the usual recipe (No. 2255), and add thereto one oz. of capsicum cut into dice.

Also toss in butter one and one-half oz. of egg-plant, cut into dice and seasoned, and put these with the fillets of sole. Mould the rice into a border round the dish; put the fillets and the egg-plant in the middle, and coat the two with curry sauce without letting the latter touch the rice.

N.B.—In the case of pilaff rice with fillets of sole, the rice should border the dish, and the fillets of sole, tossed in butter, should be laid in the middle and coated with brown butter.

898—FILETS DE SOLES POMPADOUR

Treat the fillets with butter and bread-crumbs, and grill them. Garnish them all round with a thread of very firm Béarnaise tomatée. Dish and surround them with a border of Château potatoes (No. 2208).

Lay a fine slice of truffle, moistened with melted meat-glaze, on each fillet.

899—FILETS DE SOLES RACHEL

Coat the fillets with some delicate fish forcemeat; put four slices of truffle on the forcemeat of each of the fillets; fold the latter, and poach them in one-sixth pint of the cooking-liquor of mushrooms, and a piece of butter the size of a walnut, cut into small pieces.

Arrange the fillets in an oval on a dish, and coat them with white-wine sauce combined with one tablespoonful of freshly-cooked and uncooled asparagus-heads, and one tablespoonful of truffle in dice per every one-half pint of the sauce.

900—FILETS DE SOLES VÉNITIENNE

Fold the fillets, and poach them in fish _fumet_.

Arrange them in a circle on a dish, alternating them with thin crusts, in the shape of hearts, fried in butter. Coat with Venetian sauce combined with the reduced cooking-liquor of the fillets.

901—FILETS DE SOLES VERDI

Prepare a garnish of macaroni cut into dice; cohere this with cream and grated Gruyère and Parmesan, and add three oz. of lobster meat and one and one-half oz. of truffles in dice per every one-half lb. of the macaroni.

Poach the fillets of sole in fish _fumet_, keeping the fillets in their natural state. Lay the macaroni very evenly on the dish; set the poached fillets of sole upon it; coat with Mornay sauce, and set to glaze quickly.

902—FILETS DE SOLES VICTORIA

Fold the fillets, and poach them in fish _fumet_.

Arrange them in an oval on a dish, and garnish the centre with three oz. of the meat from the tail of the spiny lobster, and one oz. of truffle in dice per every four fillets.

Coat the fillets and the garnish with Victoria sauce, and set to glaze quickly.

903—FILETS DE SOLES VÉRONIQUE

Raise the fillets of a fine sole; beat them slightly; fold and season them, and put them in a special earthenware, buttered dish.

With the bones, some of the trimmings of the fish, a little minced onion, some parsley stalks, a few drops of lemon juice, and white wine and water, prepare two spoonfuls of _fumet_.

This done, strain it over the fillets, and poach them gently.

Drain them carefully; reduce the _fumet_ to the consistence of a syrup, and finish it with one and one-half oz. of butter. Arrange the fillets in an oval on the dish whereon they have been poached; cover them with the buttered _fumet_, and set to glaze quickly. When about to serve, set a pyramid of skinned and very cold muscadel grapes in the middle of the dish.

Put a cover on the dish, and serve immediately.

904—FILETS DE SOLES WALEWSKA

Poach the fillets in fish _fumet_, keeping them in their natural state.

Dish, and surround them with three _langoustines’_ tails cut into two lengthwise, and stewed in butter (with lid on) with six fine slices of raw truffle.

Coat with a delicate Mornay sauce, and set to glaze quickly.

N.B.—The Mornay sauce may, according to circumstances, be combined with one and one-half oz. of _langoustine_ butter per pint.

905—FILETS DE SOLES WILHELMINE

Prepare some potato shells as directed under “Filets de soles Olga” (No. 894). Garnish them with a tablespoonful of cucumber with cream; put a fillet of sole into each garnished shell, a fine Zeeland oyster on each fillet, and cover with Mornay sauce.

Set to glaze quickly, and dish on a napkin.

=Various Preparations of Soles and Fillets of Sole.=

906—MOUSSELINES DE SOLES

The directions given under “_Mousselines de_ Saumon” (No. 797) apply in all circumstances to _Mousselines_ of Sole. I shall therefore refrain from repeating the recipe, since, the quantities remaining the same, all that is needed is the substitution of the meat of sole for that of salmon. Thus, I shall only state here, by way of reminding the reader, that these excellent preparations admit of all the fish sauces and garnishes, and that they may also be accompanied by all purées of fresh vegetables.

907—TURBAN DE FILETS DE SOLES A LA VILLARET

Raise the fillets of three soles; flatten them slightly with a moistened beater, and trim them very straight on either side.

Liberally butter a medium-sized savarin-mould. Lay the fillets aslant in this mould, with their tail-ends over-reaching its inner edge and their other ends projecting over its outer edge; slip a fine slice of truffle between each, and let them slightly overlap one another.

When the mould is completely lined with the fillets of sole, fill it up with lobster _mousseline_ forcemeat. Gently tap the mould on a folded napkin lying on the table, with the object of settling the forcemeat, and then draw the overhanging ends of the fillets across the latter.

Set to poach in a _bain-marie_ in a moderate oven.

This done, take the mould out of the _bain-marie_; let it stand for a few minutes, and then turn it upside-down upon the dish. Leave it to drain; soak up the liquid that has leaked out on to the dish; take off the mould, and moisten the surface of the fillets by means of a small brush dipped in melted butter. The object of this last measure is to glaze the fish and to remove therefrom the froth resulting from its poached albumen.

Now garnish the centre of the moulding with shrimps’ tails, mushrooms, poached milt, and slices of truffle, the whole cohered by means of Béchamel sauce finished with lobster butter.

Send a sauceboat of Béchamel sauce, finished with lobster butter, to the table at the same time as the fish.

908—TURBAN DE FILETS DE SOLES ET SAUMON VILLARET

Proceed as in the preceding recipe, but alternate the fillets of sole with very red slices of salmon of the same size as the fillets.

The combination yields an excellent result, and the varying strips of white and orange which constitute the body of the moulded crown lend sightliness to the dish.

N.B.—The designation “à la Villaret,” relating to the crown alone, in no wise affects the constituents of the garnish; these may either remain the same as those of the preceding recipe, or may be replaced by something similar. The sauce alone remains unalterable, and this should be a good Béchamel finished with lobster butter.

909—TIMBALE DE FILETS DE SOLES CARDINAL

For ten people, prepare a timbale crust (No. 2394) the diameter of which should be greater than the height; line it with fine, short paste, and decorate it with noodle paste.

Raise the fillets of three medium-sized soles, flatten them slightly; coat them with whiting forcemeat prepared with crayfish butter, and roll them into scroll-form. Also prepare ten small slices of the meat of a medium-sized ordinary or spiny lobster’s tail, ten small grooved and cooked mushrooms, fifteen slices of truffle, and three-quarters pint of Cardinal sauce finished with a lobster butter.

When about to serve, lay the poached, rolled fillets of sole (well drained) in a circle round the bottom of the timbale; put the slices of lobster and the mushrooms in the centre, and cover the whole with Cardinal sauce.

Set upon the sauce, just over the centre of the timbale, a large, grooved mushroom (cooked and kept very white), and encircle the latter with fifteen slices of truffle.

Place the timbale, thus garnished, on a folded napkin lying on a dish, and serve at once.

910—TIMBALE DE FILETS DE SOLES CARMÉLITE

Prepare (1) a timbale crust as above; (2) a lobster à la New-burg made from raw lobster (No. 948); (3) twelve rolled fillets of sole stuffed with fish forcemeat finished with lobster butter; (4) three oz. of sliced truffles.

Poach the rolled fillets in fish _fumet_; slice the meat of the lobster’s tail, and put the poached fillets, the slices of lobster and the slices of truffle into the lobster sauce. Heat the whole well, without boiling; pour the sauce and garnish into the timbale crust, and deck the top with twelve fine slices of truffle.

Dish the timbale on a folded napkin, and serve instantly.

911—TIMBALE DE FILETS DE SOLES GRIMALDI

Prepare:—(1) A rather deep timbale crust, and decorate it with noodle paste. (2) Cook, as for bisque, twenty-four small _langoustines_; wrench off their tails; cut them into two lengthwise, and keep them hot in butter. (3) Finely pound the _langoustines’_ carapaces, and add thereto one-third pint of fine Béchamel. Rub through a fine sieve first, and then through tammy. Put the resulting cullis into a saucepan, and heat without boiling it; intensify the seasoning; add a few tablespoonfuls of cream, little by little; put the prepared tails in the cullis, and keep the latter in the _bain-marie_. (4) Cut four oz. of _blanched_ and somewhat stiff macaroni into pieces, and add thereto one-sixth pint of cream and three oz. of sliced truffle. Heat until the macaroni has completely absorbed the cream; thicken with one-sixth pint of Béchamel sauce finished with fish _fumet_; add one and one-half oz. of butter cut into small lumps, and keep hot. (5) Coat sixteen fillets of sole with truffled fish forcemeat; roll the fillets into scroll-form, and, at the last minute, poach them in fish _fumet_.

To garnish the timbale, spread a layer of macaroni on the bottom thereof, lay half of the rolled fillets upon the macaroni, and cover these with half of the _langoustines’_ tails in the cullis.

Repeat the procedure, in the same order, with what is left of the garnishes, and finish the timbale with a layer of the _langoustines’_ tails.

Set the timbale on a folded napkin lying on a dish, and serve immediately.

912—TIMBALE DE FILETS DE SOLES CARÊME

Flatten the fillets of three medium-sized soles, and trim them neatly.

Liberally butter a pound-cake mould, and line it with the fillets, placing them side by side with their tails lying round the centre of the bottom of the mould, and their opposite ends projecting above the brim. Press them well, that they may take the shape of the mould.

Completely coat the fillets with a layer, one-half inch thick, of fish forcemeat.

Put the mould in the front of the oven for a few minutes in order to poach the forcemeat, which, in adhering to the fillets, gives the required firmness to the timbale.

When the forcemeat has been poached and is stiff, withdraw the timbale from the oven, and cut off the pieces of fillet that project above the edges of the mould. Fill the timbale to within one-third inch of its brim with a garnish of shrimps and poached oysters and mussels, small button-mushrooms, and slices of truffle, all of which should be cohered with a thick and highly-seasoned Béchamel sauce. Cover this garnish with the projecting pieces of fillets, already cut off, and close the timbale by means of a thin layer of that forcemeat which served in coating the fillets. Poach for thirty minutes in a _bain-marie_ and in a moderate oven. After taking the timbale out of the _bain-marie_, let it stand for a few minutes; overturn it on a round dish; take off the mould; deck it on top with a garland consisting of six little _paupiettes_ of salmon, each stuffed with a crayfish tail, and surmounted by an encrusted crayfish carapace.

Serve a Nantua sauce separately.

913—TIMBALE DE FILETS DE SOLES MARQUISE

For a timbale large enough for ten people, prepare:—

1. An even or fluted timbale crust.

2. A garnish consisting of twelve rolled or folded fillets of sole poached in fish _fumet_, twelve poached oysters (cleared of their beards), twenty-four small quenelles of salmon, and twenty slices of truffle.

Heat this garnish after having added a few drops of fish _fumet_ to it, and then thicken it with one-half pint of white-wine sauce prepared with paprika.

Put the above garnish into the timbale, which should be very hot; set the latter on a folded napkin, and serve at once.

914—The Preparation of PAUPIETTES OF FILLETS OF SOLE SALMON, &c.

The _paupiettes_ (or fillets rolled after the manner of a scroll) are served either as entrées like fillets of sole, of which they are but a special kind, or as a garnish. For the second purpose, not only should they be smaller than for the first, but very small fillets are generally selected for the preparation of the _paupiettes_.

In order to make _paupiettes_, first remove the nervous film from the outside surfaces of the fillets, and then slightly flatten the latter with the blade of a large knife; trim them on both sides, and coat them on their flayed side with a thin layer of fish forcemeat, truffled or not, in accordance with the requirements.

Now roll them into scroll-form; smooth the forcemeat that projects from the top end, and the _paupiettes_ are done.

Stand them upright in a buttered sautépan to poach, and take care to place them snugly together lest they lose their shape while the operation is in progress. Moisten them with sufficient fish _fumet_ (No. 11) to cover them; poach them in a moderate oven, and remember, as in the case of fillets of sole, not to let the poaching-liquor boil.

All the garnishes and sauces suited to fillets of sole likewise obtain with _paupiettes_, provided the difference in their shape be taken into account when dishing up.

For salmon _paupiettes_, cut slices two-thirds inch wide, one-half inch thick, and the length of a fillet of sole, from a skinned fillet of salmon. In view of the unusual fragility of salmon’s flesh, the slices of fillets should be carefully flattened in order to give them the width and thickness of a fillet of sole. This done, spread forcemeat on them, and roll them as explained above.

=Soles and Fillets of Sole (Cold)=

915—ASPIC DE FILETS DE SOLES

An essential point in the making of an aspic is the clearness of the fish jelly. For a sole aspic, take some white fish aspic, which is at once succulent, limpid, and just sufficiently viscous to allow of its being turned out of a mould without breaking.

For the purpose under consideration, moulds with plain or decorated borders are generally used, and there are two modes of procedure:—

1. For a mould capable of holding one quart, fold twelve small fillets of sole and poach them in butter and lemon juice, taking care to keep them very white. This done, set them to cool under a light weight.

Pour a few tablespoonfuls of melted fish jelly into the mould, which should be lying amidst broken ice. As soon as the jelly begins to set, decorate it tastefully with pieces (lozenges, crescents, &c.) of very black truffle and the poached white of an egg. Capers, tarragon leaves, thin roundels of small radishes, &c., may also be used for the purpose of decoration.