This sauce is my simplified version of a recipe by Chef Alain Ducasse from the cookbook Ducasse Made Simple by Sophie. I've included a picture of the cookbook below. I posted the original recipe, which is made with sole, herbed bread crumbs, and prawns. In this post, I'll share my simplified version of this sauce served over sole fillets.
A point to note is how comparing the two recipes shows that even "fancy" French recipes can be adapted to be simple and still achieve impressive results.
I mention this because I used to be intimidated by elaborate recipes. Then, I realized I could draw ideas from them and make my own versions—a practice that has strengthened my kitchen intuition. Kitchen intuition is simply knowing how to adjust or simplify recipes to suit your tastes, modify with what you have on hand, or even cook without a recipe. You may enjoy doing this, too, and reading cookbooks (more like novels) to spark ideas and learn about cooking techniques rather than only searching for a recipe to follow. It's a wonderful way to build your cooking skills and kitchen intuition.
One of my favorite sources for cookbooks is secondhand sites like Thrift Books and Abe Books, where you can find a wide selection and good prices.
Here is the recipe for lemon shallot cream sauce over sole, but you can use this sauce over chicken, shrimp, other fish, vegetables, and rice. You will find more tips and ideas after the recipe.
1 pound of sole fillets
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 shallots, chopped
1-2 lemons, juiced
3/4 cup heavy cream
Fine sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits
To Make the Sauce:
Warm the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook until soft but not browned, about 4–5 minutes.
Add the lemon juice, stir to combine, and cook for about 1–2 minutes. Add the cream and stir to incorporate. Cook, stirring frequently, until the sauce thickens — about 5 minutes.
Add the butter and whisk until incorporated.
Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper, and it's ready to serve. Serve over the sole. If making ahead, follow Alain Ducasse's directions (from the recipe below) and transfer the sauce to a bowl, cover with aluminum foil, and keep warm in the oven at low heat.
To Prepare the Sole:
Heat a nonstick skillet or a pan coated with olive oil over medium heat. Add the sole fillets to the heated pan and cook for about a minute and a half on one side. Then, carefully flip the fillets to try to keep them intact—they are very thin and fall apart easily. Cook for another minute and a half on the other side or until done.
Spoon the lemon shallot cream sauce on top and serve.
Freeze Leftovers
I often make extra sauce to freeze. To serve, thaw this sauce in the fridge and then warm it gently in a pan. If you heat it slowly and serve it immediately, the sauce should remain smooth and creamy. Heating it too quickly or letting it sit too long can cause the cream and fats to separate, which means the fat begins to break away from the rest of the sauce, leaving an oily or grainy texture. If the sauce separates, add a small splash of cream and whisk it until it comes back to a smooth emulsion.
Menu Ideas
Serve with a simple green salad and rice as a side. Or instead of a side dish, add a no-cook third course such as cheese and bread or fresh fruit for a simple and elegant meal.
As I mentioned above, here is the original version of the recipe by Alain Ducasse.
The Café Riche was a famous nineteenth-century Paris restaurant celebrated for its fillets of sole bathed in velvety cream sauces and garnished with lavish ingredients such as lobster and truffles. This fillet of sole recipe, which includes a buttery breadcrumb topping for the baked sole, is a contemporary homage to the old Riche. Here, the fillets are surrounded by a rich mushroom cream sauce and garnished with garlicky prawns.
Serves 6
For the mushroom cream sauce
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 shallots, chopped
2 lemons, sliced
I pound cremini mushrooms,
stems trimmed, sliced
3/4 cup heavy cream
Fine sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into bits
For the herbed bread crumbs
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup plain fresh bread crumbs
3 tablespoons chopped mixed herbs (choose 2 or 3 among chervil, parsley, cilantro, and tarragon)
Fine sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
For the prawns
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
I garlic clove chopped
24 large prawns or jumbo shrimp
2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, minced
Fine sea salt
For the sole
12 sole fillets (3 to 4 ounces each) Fine sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
To prepare the mushroom cream sauce
Warm the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shallots, lemon, and mushrooms and stir to combine. Reduce the heat to medium, cover, and cook for 5 minutes without stirring. Uncover, add the cream, and stir to incorporate. Raise the heat to high and reduce the mixture, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Strain the sauce through a fine-mesh strainer, pressing on the mushrooms to extract their juice, and return to the saucepan over medium heat. Discard the solids. Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Whisk in the butter, a little at a time, until incorporated. Transfer to a bowl, cover with aluminum foil, and keep warm in a low oven.
To prepare the herbed bread crumbs
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bread crumbs and toss to coat with the butter. Remove from the heat, add the herbs, and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
To prepare the prawns
Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and prawns and sauté for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat, stir in the parsley, and season with salt. Keep warm in a low oven.
To prepare the sole and serve
Preheat the oven to 475°F. Season the sole with salt and pepper and arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet. Spread each fillet with a layer of the herbed bread crumbs and top each with I teaspoon of butter. Bake in the center of the oven for 6 to 7 minutes, until the fish is flaky. Spoon the cream of mushroom sauce onto six warmed serving plates. Top each serving with 2 sole fillets, garnish with 3 prawns. and serve immediately.
I hope this post not only gives you inspiration for a delightfully easy-to-make gourmet sauce but also sparks your intuition and ideas for how you can modify recipes into simpler to prepare versions.
