Recipe: Glazed sole fillets à la Néva

Cooking vegetables English style

1 In 2 saucepans, pour 1.6 qt (1.5 liters) of water, bring to a boil then salt and pour into one the diced carrots and turnips, cook 9 minutes, and into the other the diced green beans, cook 5 minutes. Then add the peas, cook for one additional minute. Cool your vegetables under cold running water. Drain them and set aside on a covered plate.

Cooking the sole fillets

1 On your work surface, score (with the tip of a knife) your sole fillets, salt, pepper, then roll them with the flesh side on the outside. Place them in your sauté pan pressed together, add your sliced shallot, your white wine and your cream, salt and pepper then cover and cook for 8 minutes. Then remove your sole fillets, let them cool and reduce your cooking liquid by 1/3.

2 Then strain your sauce which should have thickened, pressing the shallots well, then put it back on the heat. In a bowl of cold water, soak your gelatin sheets then add them to your cooking liquid, stirring with a whisk (for agar-agar at boiling point, allow 1 minute then remove from heat).

3 Trim your fillets so they remain straight then place them on a rack with a plate underneath, into the refrigerator (10 minutes). During this time, your sauce will cool and become a « chaud froid » sauce (be careful, it should not be fully set but just about to be, while still flowing). Then remove your sole fillets and coat them with this sauce. Return to the cold for 5 minutes then coat a second time. There you have it, they're ready, into the refrigerator for the rest of the preparation.

4 Heat 2 tablespoons of your sauce very gently, then put it in a large salad bowl, stir well until it warms up, add your mayonnaise, stir and pour in your cooked vegetables mixing them in with a spoon. Adjust seasoning and return to the refrigerator.

Finishing

5 Gently heat a little of the remaining sauce and pour into the center of your plate. Chill for 5 minutes so your « chaud froid » sets, then using a large ring mold or a lid placed in the center (12 to 13 cm), trace around it with your Russian salad. Remove your mold then place your 4 sole medallions in the center and with a small spoon (preferably mother-of-pearl), top them with a small mound of caviar.

Serve with a good Chablis 1er cru or better yet with a Meursault.

Thanks to my friend Michel Berthommier for the quality of the caviar he produces.