Sole normande

Open the mussels. Cook the mussels with 40 g shallot and 100 ml cider in a covered pot over high heat, shaking once or twice. Discard any shells that remain closed, strain the liquid carefully and reserve 150 ml; remove the cooked mussels from their shells. Use lidded pot, fine sieve. Allow 5 minutes. The usable mussels have opened fully and about 150 ml clear strained cooking liquor is reserved. The mussel liquor supplies marine seasoning to the sauce and must be strained of grit. Discard mussels that stay closed after cooking and check for shell fragments.

Cook the mushrooms. Melt 20 g butter in a sauté pan and cook the mushrooms until just tender and their released moisture has largely evaporated. Use sauté pan. Keep to medium-high heat. Allow 6 minutes. The mushrooms are tender and glossy with little free liquid left in the pan. Cooking mushrooms separately prevents them watering the finished sauce. Keep the cooked garnish hot only briefly or chill promptly.

Poach the sole and prawns. Arrange the sole fillets rolled loosely in a wide sauté pan with the remaining 40 g shallot, 100 ml cider, 250 ml fumet and 150 ml reserved mussel liquor. Bring to a bare simmer, add the prawns and poach gently until both fish and prawns reach 63 °C; lift them out carefully. Use wide sauté pan with lid, slotted spoon, thermometer. Allow 8 minutes. The sole is opaque and moist, the prawns are pearly and firm, and both reach 63 °C in their thickest parts. Gentle poaching keeps the sole delicate while creating the base for the sauce. Keep seafood cold before cooking; verify 63 °C and prevent raw-seafood juices from contacting cooked garnish.

Reduce and cream the sauce. Boil the poaching liquid uncovered until reduced to about 250 ml, then add the 250 ml cream and simmer gently until the sauce yield is about 450 ml. Use saucepan or same sauté pan, measuring jug. Keep to medium then medium-low heat. Allow 10 minutes. The finished sauce measures about 450 ml and lightly coats the back of a spoon without looking split. Reduction concentrates the fish, mussel and cider juices before the final butter enrichment. Avoid a violent boil after adding the cream to reduce the risk of splitting.

Finish and assemble. Whisk in the final 20 g butter off the heat, season with the 2 g salt and white pepper, then return the sole, prawns, mussels and mushrooms just long enough to heat through before dividing across four warm plates. Use whisk, warm plates. Keep to off heat then very low heat. Allow 3 minutes. The sauce remains smooth and glossy and every plate receives two sole fillets plus an even share of mussels, prawns, mushrooms and sauce. Finishing off fierce heat keeps the cream sauce smooth and prevents overcooking seafood. Serve immediately; check once more for stray shell fragments.