(1271). Fried Soles A La Colbert (Soles Frites A La Colbert)

The sole is an excellent tasting fish, its meat being delicate and choice. It is found in almost every sea. The shape is nearly oblong, and its mouth long and projecting.

Fried Soles A La Colbert

Dress a medium sized sole, paring off the black skin; detach the fillets from the bone on the same side, two inches from the head, and three from the tail: break the bone with the dull edge of a knife, three inches from the head and four from the tail; dip the fish into salted milk, roll it in flour, then immerse entirely in beaten eggs, and roll in fresh breadcrumbs; let the sole fry slowly so that it cooks, and is of a fine color, and when done, remove the piece of spinal bone, and fill the inside with maitre d'hotel butter (No. 581). Dress on a hot dish and garnish with cut lemons (No. 113).

(1272). Soles A La Lutece (Soles A La Lutece)

Cut off straight the heads from three well cleaned soles; remove the black skin; shorten them greatly with a pair of scissors, split them through the middle of the skinned side, and season with salt and pepper; dip in Hour, then in beaten egg, and lastly in bread-crumbs; fry in clarified butter, dress on a very hot oval-shaped dish, and garnish around with five-eighths of an inch in diameter potato balls, fried and afterward rolled in fresh butter; season with salt, lemon juice, and chopped parsley. Serve a Parisian sauce (No. 515), at the same time, but separately.

(1273). Soles A La Marguery-Fillets (Filets De Soles A La Marguery)

Raise the fillets from two clean, skinned soles; fold in two, pare nicely and season, range them on a buttered baking dish and bestrew the surface with shallots and mushroom peelings: moisten to cover with a white wine court bouillon (No. 39) and allow the liquid to come to a boil, then finish cooking the fillets in a slow oven. Drain them off singly, and dress on a dish; garnish one side with shrimp tails, and the other with blanched oysters, from which the hard parts have been removed, or mussels. Keep the whole very warm. Strain the broth the soles were cooked in, reduce it to a half-glaze, thicken with a mere spoonful of Normande sauce (No. 509) and finish with a piece of fresh lobster butter ( No. 580); pour this over the fillets and garnishing*, then glaze the sauce with a gas salamander (Fig. 123); two minutes will suffice for this. When the fish is ready to be served, brush the surface with thin lines of red butter (No. 580).

(1274). Soles A La Normande (Filets De Soles Normande)

Raise the fillets from four medium sized soles weighing about a pound each; remove the skin. pare them neatly and fold in two. Put them on a buttered baking sheet, season with salt, pepper and chopped onions and moisten to their height with white wine and mushroom broth or else court boullion(No. 39), let the liquid come to a boil, then set the pan in a moderate oven to leave until the fish is well cooked, basting frequently with the stock; drain off the fish and strain the stock, then reduce it with some veloute (No. 415) and thicken with raw egg-yolks, cream and fresh butter. Dress the sole fillets in a circle on a dish and garnish the inside border with half circular-shaped croutons three-sixteenth of an inch thick and an inch and a quarter in diameter; heat the dish slightly, dip the flat side of the crouton in beaten eggs, stick it to the plate, besprinkle with melted butter and color in a hot oven. Around the fillets of sole arrange some quenelles molded in a coffeespoon (No. 155), some mussels or oysters from which the hard parts have been removed and channeled and turned mushroom heads ( No. 118), then cover the whole with the sauce.

Garnish the inside of the circle with fillets of smelts or milts a la villeroi, drip over the surface thin lines of meat glaze (No. 402), using a brush for the purpose, and lay trussed crawfish on top.