Truth – I have a “girl crush” on Julia Child. I have her famous Mastering the Art of French Cooking cookbooks. Whenever I run into her The French Chef show on PBS I have to watch. I’ve seen the movie Julie & Julia several times. And a few weeks ago, I finally watched the wonderful 2021 documentary Julia. Afterwards I was reinspired to pull out her cookbooks & make a few recipes. This is a truly wonderful one!
Serves 6
Ingredients
- 2-1/2 lb white fish fillets (tilapia, sole, cod, pollock, halibut)
- 2 T shallots, minced
- Salt & Pepper
- 1-1/2 T butter, cut into small pieces
- 1 c dry white wine
- 1/2 c water
- Brown or waxed paper, cut to the size of your skillet & buttered
- 1/4 c cheese (Swiss, Parmesan, asiago)
- 3/4 lb mushrooms, sliced thin
- 2 T butter
- 3 T butter, cut into 1/4″ pieces
- 2-1/2 T flour
- 3/4 c whipping cream
- Salt & Pepper
- lemon juice
Make the Fish: Preheat oven to 350 deg. Sprinkle half the shallots in bottom of a large ovenproof skillet. Season fish fillets with salt & pepper. Arrange them in slightly overlapping layers (thin sides overlapping each other) in the skillet. Sprinkle fillets with remaining shallots & dot with butter pieces. Pour in wine & water. Fish should be barely covered with liquid (if not, add more water).
Bring to simmer on top of the stove. Lay the buttered paper over the fish & place in bottom third of oven. Simmer for 8-12 min or until a fork pierces the flesh easily. When fish is done, pour poaching liquid into a saucepan. Cover fish with foil to keep warm.
Make the Sauce: Combine 1/4″ pieces of butter with the flour in small bowl. Mix together until most of flour has adhered to butter. Keep refrigerated until needed.
Melt 2 T butter in a skillet over med high heat. Add mushrooms & cook, tossing occasionally, until their released juices have evaporated. Season with salt & pepper & set aside.
To the poaching liquid, add any accumulated juices from the fish. Over high heat, rapidly boil the poaching liquid until it has reduced to approx 1 c. Off heat, add the butter/flour mixture in 4 additions, mixing until melted & smooth between each addition. Then add 1/2 c of the cream. Bring cream mixture to a boil.
Add mushrooms to the hot cream mixture. If the sauce needs thinning, add additional tablespoons of cream until it is your preferred consistency. Season with salt & pepper & add a few drops of lemon juice.
To Serve: Place fish fillets on a plate & spoon sauce over the top. Sprinkle with cheese & enjoy!