Makes 4 servings
A tronçon is a fish steak cut at a 90-degree angle from half of a flat fish (usually a turbot or halibut). It traditionally includes the bone and skin. A cut across a round fish, such as salmon, is called a darne. They’re both referred to as steaks in English, and are always cooked and served on the bone. There is no doubt that a fish cooked on the bone will give you a bigger flavor than a boneless cut, and we think that the extra work in eating fish cooked and served on the bone is more than repaid by the extra flavor and succulence.
Ingredients
- 1 lb new potatoes, steamed until tender
- 4 turbot steaks (tronçon), 6 to 8 oz each (see note)
- 2 tablespoons clarified butter
- Kosher salt, as needed
- Ground black pepper, as needed
- 1/2 cup (8 tbsp) unsalted butter, divided use
- 1/3 cup finely minced shallots
- 1/2 garlic clove, crushed
- 3 1/2 cups assorted wild mushrooms, sliced
- 1/2 cup Sauvignon white wine
- 4 cups Fish Stock
- 1 cup heavy cream
- Lemon juice as needed
- Chopped tarragon, parsley, chives, and chervil, as needed (fines herbes), as needed (see note)
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cook the new potatoes in salted water for approximately 20 minutes, or until potatoes are cooked through. Drain and set them aside and keep warm.
- Cook the fish and make the sauce while the potatoes are cooking. Heat the clarified butter in a large sauté pan over high heat. Season the turbot with salt and pepper and sear it for about 4 minutes on each side, or until they take on a good golden color. Place the seared tronçons on a cooking sheet and bake for approximately 10 minutes. The tronçons should reach an internal temperature of 135°F when done.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter in a medium skillet and add the shallots and garlic. Sweat over low heat for 2 minutes, or until shallots are translucent. Add the mushrooms and cook over moderate heat for another 2 minutes, until mushrooms start to soften and throw off some juice. Add the white wine and reduce it by half, for about 4 minutes. Add the fish stock and reduce it over high heat by two-thirds, about 15 minutes. Add the cream and reduce until the sauce lightly coats the back of a spoon. Remove the pan from the burner.
- Season the sauce with salt and pepper and add, while stirring, 2 tablespoons of butter. Add a few drops of lemon juice, stir to combine, and keep the sauce warm.
- Reheat the potatoes if necessary and slice them about 1/4 inch thick. Shingle them around the outsides of the plates. With a slotted spoon, scoop out the mushrooms from the sauce and divide them evenly among the 4 plates (put them in the middle of the plate). Place the tronçons on top of the mushrooms and pour the remaining sauce over the fish.
- Melt the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter in a small pan and add the fines herbes. Stir just enough to combine. Spoon this hot herb butter over the potatoes and serve.
Notes:
Turbot and halibut are flat fish, which means that the skin on one side of the fish is dark, while the other is light. That is the side that is constantly facing down toward the bottom of the ocean. If you have a sharp boning or filleting knife, preparing your own cuts of fish is very simple. Just buy a nice large piece of halibut or turbot, ideally a center cut, and then simply make cross cuts. If the fish is large, you may want to cut the entire piece in half lengthwise first.
Fines herbes is an herb mix popular in French cooking, made from equal parts tarragon, flat-leaf parsley, chives, and chervil, all minced and combined. For this dish, 1 teaspoon of each minced herb should be sufficient.
