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SOLE, FILLETS OF (a la Rochfort)
Fillet a pair of soles. Pound a quarter of a pint of shelled shrimps in a mortar with one ounce of butter and a dessert-spoonful of bread-crumbs, and a seasoning of salt and a little cayenne; mix well, and spread a thin layer of the mixture on each fillet. Roll the fillets up neatly, and fix them with a skewer. Egg and bread-crumb them carefully, and arrange them in a frying-basket. Plunge the basket into a saucepan of boiling fat, and fry the fillets to a light golden colour.
A straightforward deep-fried paupiette: sole fillets spread with shrimp butter, rolled, crumbed and fried. The whole thing turns on keeping the rolls tight and the fat hot enough to set the crumb before the fish overcooks.
- A quarter of a pint of shrimpsShrimps were sold shelled by volume, so this is about 5 fl oz by British imperial measure, roughly 3-4 oz (85-110 g) in weight of small cooked brown shrimps. Cooked North Atlantic shrimp or small cooked prawns, chopped fine, stand in acceptably.
- Dessert-spoonfulTwo teaspoons. Its job is to bind the pounded shrimp butter so the filling does not run out during frying; do not increase it or the paste goes pasty.
- Pounding without a mortarA short pulse in a small food processor gives the same smooth shrimp butter. Have the butter soft rather than melted, then chill the paste for fifteen minutes so it spreads without sliding.
- Filleting a pair of solesA pair gives eight fillets. Ask the fishmonger to skin them; the fine sandpapery black skin of Dover sole will not soften in the fryer. Lay the fillets skinned side up so the natural curl helps the roll close.
- Fixing the rollsWooden cocktail sticks do the work of the skewer and are easier to withdraw. Chill the rolled, crumbed fillets for twenty minutes before frying so they hold their shape in the fat.
- The frying fat350-375F (175-190C) is the target. The book gives no temperature because deep frying was judged by eye; below 340F the crumb absorbs fat, above 390F it colours before the fish is set. Three to four minutes gives the light golden colour asked for.
- Basket and quantityFry in two batches of four. Crowding drops the fat temperature sharply and the rolls stick to one another.
- Yield and servingEight rolls serve four as a first course or two to three as a main. Drain on paper, remove the sticks, and send with lemon and a shrimp or anchovy sauce.
Cassell's ran to many sole recipes, each with a garnish name attached, and "a la Rochfort" is one of the many whose origin is not documented in the book or anywhere reliable; it is generally taken to echo a French place or family name in the style of the period rather than to record a particular chef. What is period-typical is the method: a forcemeat of pounded shellfish bound with butter and crumbs, spread on a flat fish fillet and rolled into a paupiette, was often used in Victorian kitchens to make a cheap flatfish look like a made dish. Shrimps were then landed in quantity and sold ready-shelled by the pint, which is why the recipe measures them by volume rather than weight. Deep frying in a wire basket was fashionable in kitchens equipped with a deep pan of clarified beef fat or lard.