Sole à la Cardinal is a traditional British recipe, based on Charles Elmé Francatelli's recipe of 1861, for a classic dish of stuffed sole braised in butter and white wine that's served with cardinal sauce mixed with the cooking liquid. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Sole à la Cardinal.
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This is a classic recipe for a Victorian version of Sole à la Cardinal that's derived from the chef, Charles Elmé Francatelli's 1861 volume, The Cook's Guide and Housekeeper's & Butler's Assistant. Below you will find both the recipe in its original form and a modern redaction.
Original Recipe
No. 240.—SOLE A LA CARDINAL.
Bone, stuff, and bake a large Torbay sole; an when done, dish it up; reduce the liquor and add it to some cardinal sauce, No. 62; pour this over the sole; garnish it round with a border of quenelles of whiting decorated with truffle, and serve.
Modern Redaction
Ingredients:
1 large sole
2 shallots, finely chopped
6 mushrooms, finely chopped
2 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
2 tbsp butter
salt and freshly-ground black pepper
50g butter
150ml white wine
4 tbsp mushroom juice (or broth)
200ml cardinal sauce
20 quenelles of whiting, boiled to cook
Method:
Clean and scale the sole then carefully remove the backbone, wash and wipe dry.
Melt the 2 tbsp butter in a pan, add the mushrooms and shallots and fry for about 6 minutes, or until the shallots are just golden. Stir in the parsley and season to taste with salt and black pepper then use this mixture to stuff the hole in the back of the sole you made whilst removing the backbone.
Melt the remaining butter in the base of a flame-proof casserole then add the stuffed sole along with the wine and mushroom juice. Cover with a tight-fitting lid (or a sheet of foil and the lid) and bring to a simmer then cook gently for about 30 minutes, or until the fish is done.
When ready, remove the fish carefully from the pan and set aside to keep warm. Strain the cooking liquid into a pan, bring to a boil and reduce the volume by half. Whisk in the cardinal sauce and bring to a simmer.
Arrange the fish on a serving plate, pour over the sauce then garnish with the quenelles of whiting and serve.
