She Strengthens

Elegant French Paupiettes: A Delicate Sole and Crab Dish

Paupiettes, a classic French preparation, involve rolling thin fillets around a filling and poaching them to perfection. Often misunderstood and poorly executed, this dish deserves a revival. Our recipe combines delicate sole fillets with a rich crab filling and serves it with a creamy white wine sauce.

Choosing the Right Fish

For this recipe, petrale sole is the ideal choice. Its sturdy texture can withstand rolling and poaching, yet it remains tender and flavorful. Ask your fishmonger for even-sized pieces or trim larger fillets lengthwise to ensure they cook evenly.

The Filling

To create the crab filling, melt butter in a medium frying pan over medium heat until foaming. Add chopped shallots and cook until softened, then sprinkle in flour to coat. Whisk in white wine and simmer until the mixture has reduced slightly, followed by heavy cream. Remove from heat and stir in crabmeat, chives, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Refrigerate until chilled.

Poaching the Fish

Heat the oven to 200°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Combine water, white wine, shallots, carrots, celery, parsley, and salt in a large frying pan with a tightfitting lid. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the poaching liquid has reduced by a third.

Meanwhile, place the sole fillets on a work surface and season both sides with salt and white pepper. Divide the chilled crab filling among the fish fillets, spreading it evenly along the length of each fillet. Roll up each fillet, starting with the thicker end, and place seam-side down in a shallow baking dish. Refrigerate until ready to poach.

Poaching and Serving

Pour the poaching liquid through a strainer and discard the solids. Return the liquid to the pan and bring to a bare simmer over high heat, then reduce the heat to low. Poach the fish rolls seam-side down in the liquid until opaque and firm to the touch.

Using a flat spatula, transfer the fish to a clean baking dish. Pour 1/2 cup of the strained poaching liquid into the dish and cover with aluminum foil. Place in the oven to keep warm.

To create the white wine sauce, pour 1 cup of the strained poaching liquid into a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the liquid to 3/4 cup, then whisk in cream and simmer until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Whisk in butter and flour mixture, and season with lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

To serve, spoon 2 tablespoons of the sauce onto a small plate. Place a paupiette on the plate, then drizzle with the remaining sauce and garnish with crossed chives. Serve immediately and enjoy the delicate flavors of this elegant French dish.