White Wine Poached Fish with Cream Sauce

Not a lick of grilling in this post. This is old school Julia Child French cooking and it is a winner. In the South we would probably call this boiled fish and gravy but turns out it is fancy.

This is excellent and we will make this again. The sauce is rich and creamy and I want to put it on everything.

Research:

Found this recipe and followed it more or less. Check out this great post at FoodsOfOurLives for this Julia Child classic.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp minced shallot
2.5 lbs of a white fish - Sole
Salt & Pepper
1.5 tbsp butter diced
1.5 cups of dry white wine (something you would drink) go ahead and test it out)
3 more tbsp butter
4 tbsp flour
0.25 cups of milk
2 egg yolks
0.5 cup whipped cream
lemon juice
2 tbsp grated swiss

Execution:

Preheat the oven to 350

Sprinkle the fish with salt and pepper

Melt 2 tbsp of butter in a large sauté pan and add half the shallots

Add the fish in a single layer and then sprinkle on the remaining shallots

Add the wine and the diced up butter on top then enough water to cover the fish

Heat to almost boiling and then cover with parchment paper and press it slightly into the liquid before moving to the oven. Bake 8-12 minutes until the fish is flaky

Now let's make the sauce

Pour off the liquid from the sauté pan and boil it down until only one cup remains.

Then set the liquid aside.

Melt 3 tbsp of butter into the sauce pan and add the flour and stir until combined. It is a Roux, people.

Then pour in the reserved fish stock liquid and the milk and whisk until thick. We think this would make it a Velouté - mother sauce.
.

In a mixing bowl add the egg yoke and cream and then slowly drizzle about a cup of the hot liquid into the mixing bowl while mixing (this is called tempering). Then slowly add it all into the sauce pan.

Heat on medium until thick and creamy

Add salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste.

Then pour the sauce over the fish.

And sprinkle the cheese on top

Then return to the oven broiler to melt the cheese

Verdict:

We added the sauce to a few freshly grilled asparagus. I can't tell you how great that thick and creamy sauce is with the poached fish and the lemon juice makes a nice acid addition. Go make this.

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Aaron Franklin's Favorite trimming knife:

Dexter-Russell (S131F-6PCP) - 6" Boning Knife - Sani-Safe Series

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Sani-Safe S140-12SC-PCP 12" Scalloped Roast Slicer