Great Chef Daniel Bonnot

La Symphonie Neptune
Daniel Bonnot
Consultant
New Orleans/France/Brazil

Beautifully arrayed around a circle of pale sole filled with salmon mousse, the shrimp, scallops, and crawfish (or a mixture of the best fresh seafood available to you locally) are a tribute to the bounty of the sea. Two small side notes: tourneed mushrooms are large round mushrooms whose caps have been carved with gracefully curving lines. And puff pastry fleurons are decorative rounds of puff pastry, usually cut with a scalloped cookie cutter, browned and puffed in the oven. They add a stylish bit of crunch to the plate.

Serves 4

1 pound salmon fillet, diced
4 egg whites
1-1/2 cups heavy (whipping) cream
Pinch of coriander
Salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
1/2 ounce chopped truffles (optional)
4 Dover sole fillets
6 shallots, chopped
1/2 cup julienned herbs
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup fish stock
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and lightly poached

1/2 pound unsalted butter
1 ounce Louisiana choupiquet caviar

16 scallops, lightly sauteed in olive oil
1/2 pound crayfish, boiled in court bouillon 2 to 3 minutes (court bouillon recipe below)
8 mushrooms, tourneed for garnish, lightly poached in lemon water
8 puff pastry fleurons, baked golden brown

Because you are working with seafood and eggs, which are very perishable, have all equipment chilled before beginning.

Put the diced salmon into a food processor and process; the mixture with ball up. Add 4 egg whites and blend for 1 minute. Add the heavy cream slowly while the machine is running. When the cream is incorporated, transfer the mousse to a chilled bowl. Fold in the coriander, salt, pepper, and truffles (optional). Pack the mousse into a pastry bag. Chill if not using immediately.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Lay the sole fillets out and fold the ends into the middle of each fillet. Lift and mold each into a circle, about 1-1/2 inch in diameter. Place in a buttered poaching pan. Using a pastry bag, pipe mousse into the center of the circles. Put 2 tablespoons of the shallots, the herbs, and half of the wine and the fish stock into the pan. Add the shrimp to the pan. Cover the pan with parchment paper and poach in the oven for 20 minutes.

Pour the poaching liquid and reserved wine and fish stock into a small saucepan and boil until reduced by one third. Add the cream and simmer for 15 minutes to reduce. Whisk in the soft butter, a little at a time, until completely mixed. Season with salt and pepper; gently stir in the caviar.

To serve: Place a circle of sole and mousse in the center of each warmed serving plate. Arrange shrimp, scallops, crayfish, and mushrooms artistically around the fish. Spoon butter sauce over the seafood. Garnish each plate with a golden brown puffed pastry fleuron.

Court bouillon (short boiling)
For cooking the crayfish (one pound)
Chop:
Garlic
Celery
Onion
Carrot
Thyme
Bay Leaf
Parsley
Whole Black Peppercorns
2 cups dry white wine
1/2 gallon water

Combine the ingredients in a pot, adjusting the amounts to personal taste. Boil the ingredients together for 20 minutes to blend, then add the live crawfish to the liquid and cook for 3 minutes.