EPIGRAMS de SOLE

Epigrams de Sole

This is another favorite recipe of mine from Chef Michel Roux Jnr of the two-star Michelin restaurant Le Gavroche in London.  Chef Roux demonstrated this on the Master Chef UK series.  He said that it is such an intricate dish that his "Chefs hate it when it is on the menu at the restaurant."  Of course, I had to give it a try.  It is simply sole fillets stuffed with a lobster and tarragon mixture, then covered in a pane', and sautéed in plenty of butter and oil.  Not a dish for every day but once in a while a nice treat.  Chef Roux garnishes the dish with the lobster head and tail and adds baby carrots and baby turnips.  A very nice presentation.   Although my lobster head fell apart, everything else was perfect for the first time making it.  However, I did "cheat" and purchased fillets--not a whole fish.  As with several of Chef Roux's other dishes, this was fun and not as challenging as the show portrays.

For the Stuffed Sole:

2 Fillets of soul, about 3-4 ounce portions each
1 1-1/4 # lobster; cooked; lobster meat removed; shells reserved for sauce
1/2 cup fresh tarragon, chopped
1 cup AP flour
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup bread crumbs, unflavored
2 Tablespoons olive oil
4 oz unsalted butter

For the Sauce:

Reserved lobster body
1/2 cup chopped shallots
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1/3 cup chopped celery
4 oz unsalted butter (1/2 stick)
1 bay leaf
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 cup Brandy
1/2 cup White Wine
1 Roma tomato chopped; about 4 ounces
1 cup fish stock



Lobster Stock

To Make the Sauce:
Add shallots, carrots and celery to pan.  Add lobster shells and butter. Break lobster shells while stirring.  Add bay leaf, garlic and tomato paste.  Stir to cook paste slightly for about one minute.  Add brandy then add and the white wine.  Let alcohol reduce for about 2-3 minutes.  Then add the fish stock.  Simmer until stock is intensified and reduced by half, about 35-40 minutes. When done, pass sauce into a sieve.  Set sauce aside.

To Make the Stuffed Sole:

For the Filling:
Mix the chopped lobster meat with the tarragon.  Set aside.



Lobster/Tarragon Mixture

For the Sole:
On a flat surface, score fillets with a knife.  Then pound between film (clear plastic wrap) concentrating on the thickest part of the fillets to make them uniform in thickness (sort of like pounding on a chicken breast to make it uniform).  Remove film.  Place lobster/tarragon mixture on the lower portion of the fillet and fold the top portion of fillet over.  Trim sides and bottom of fillets to form a "triangle".  (Set scraps aside for another use.)  Press on folded fillet (epigram) to seal.  Dip epigrams in flour, and then dredge in egg yolk mixture, then coat in the unflavored bread crumbs.  Chill in the refrigerator for about 20-30 minutes so the epigram will seal and not fall apart during cooking.

To Finish:

Heat a sauté' pan with a combination of butter and oil mixture--not too hot.  Sauté' epigrams in pan and continue to spoon the mixture over fish while they are cooking.  When one side turns brown, turn epigrams over and continue to spoon the butter over the other side.  When epigrams turn golden, remove from pan and set on a plate lined with paper towels.  Let epigrams drain, then plate.

Add a dollop of the leftover lobster/tarragon mixture on top to garnish.  Serves 2.