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FILLETS OF SALMON WITH SORREL SAUCE
One of the most delightful things about sorrel is that it’s the only vegetable I know that becomes a smooth puree all by itself. Expose the leaves to just a little bit of heat in a saucepan and they melt before your eyes. As with spinach, you’ll be surprised, too, by how much the leaves reduce in volume, with a full pound of sorrel yielding sauce for just six servings of fish. As well as with salmon, you can use the following recipe for any mild white-fleshed fish such as sea bass or sole fillets. It would also be delicious with jumbo sea scallops or shrimp.
Serves 6
12 pieces skinless salmon fillet, about 4 ounces each
Salt
Freshly ground white pepper
1 pound sorrel
1/4 pound unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, plus 3 tablespoons for buttering
3 shallots, minced
1/2 cup dry vermouth
1/2 cup homemade or good-quality frozen or canned fish stock
1 cup (250 ml) heavy cream
DIRECTIONS:
 Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Season the salmon fillets with salt and pepper. Set them aside. Thoroughly rinse the sorrel leaves under cold running water and pat them dry with paper towels or a clean kitchen towel. With your fingers, pinch off and discard their stems. In several batches, gather the leaves together in a compact bunch and cut across the bunch with a sharp knife to slice the sorrel leaves into thin julienne strips. Set aside.
With 1 1/2 tablespoons of the butter, grease the bottom of an ovenproof saucepan large enough to hold the salmon fillets in a single layer. Evenly sprinkle the minced shallots over the bottom of the pan. Arrange the salmon fillets on top. Pour in the vermouth and fish stock and sprinkle in half the sorrel leaves. With another 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter, grease a sheet of aluminum foil large enough to cover the pan. Place the foil on top of the pan, buttered side down, pressing it down gently to touch the fish.
Place the pan over high heat and bring the liquid to a boil. Then, transfer the pan to the preheated oven and bake until the fish feels springy to the touch, about 5 minutes. With a spatula, carefully transfer the fillets to a warm plate and cover them with the foil. Reserve the cooking liquid.
In a separate saucepan, heat 1/2 tablespoon of the remaining butter over medium heat. Reserving about 1/3 cup of loosely packed sorrel julienne, add the remaining sorrel to the pan and saute until it wilts, about 1 minute. Holding a fine-meshed strainer over the saucepan, pour the reserved cooking liquid through it into the sorrel. Stir in the cream, raise the heat and simmer briskly, stirring frequently, until the liquid has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes. Whisking briskly, add the remaining butter a few pieces at a time until the sauce is thick and creamy.
To serve, arrange 2 salmon fillets on each heated serving plate. Spoon the sauce all around the salmon and drizzle a little on top. Garnish with the reserved sorrel julienne and serve immediately.
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