A duo that defined a nation and its' cuisine, Jean and Pierre Troigros made their name and earned their stars creating light and spare but delicious food in mid 20h century France. What put them on top was a dish consisting of a simple sauce, an herb, and a small fillet of lightly cooked salmon. It's been served in the same way at La Maison Troigros in Lyon for over half a century, and it still continues to impress.
There are countless recipes and interpretations of it on the internet, but as with many recipes, the best ones are not on the front page of Google. So for anyone who wants to attempt it, here it is sourced from the Complete Paul Bocuse:
The Troigros Brothers Salmon Fillet with Sorrel
Ingredients
1 lb (1.5 kg) fresh salmon, cut into thin slices
3 1/2 oz (100 g) sorrel
3 oz (80 g) shallots
1 cup (250 ml) dry white wine
1 cup (250 ml) Noilly Prat [brand of white vermouth]
1 cup (250 ml) fish fumet [fish stock]
2 cups (500 ml) cream
Scant 1/2 cup (100 ml) oil
Salt and Pepper
Preparation
For the sorrel: Cook in boiling water, then refresh and drain well.
For the sauce: Chop shallots. In a pot, reduce white wine, Noilly, and fish fumet together with the chopped shallots. When the liquid is syrupy, strain it through a fine mesh sieve and add the cream. Reduce again until it thickens. Season with salt and pepper and incorporate the sorrel.
For the fish: The salmon fillets should be sliced in pieces about a third of an inch thick*. Wrap in parchment paper and pat firmly but gently with a spatula, hammer, or other utensil to flatten and compress them a bit. Season fillets well with salt and pepper and pan fry them in hot oil. Fry for just a few seconds on each side; do not let them dry out or get overcooked in any way. They should be a very pale pink on the outside and a darker pink inside.
Presenting: Before the fillets are fried, spoon sauce and sorrel mixture onto a warm plate in the center. Fry the salmon and place on top of the sauce. Michel Troigros says to wait 1 minute before eating, as he accounts for the additional cooking that will occur as the plates are transported from the kitchen to the dining room. Bocuse adds his own flair by garnishing the fillets on the plate with a decorative puff pastry piece, though this is optional.
As with any recipe, high quality ingredients are obviously important, but with a recipe such as this focusing on simplicity, keep in mind that the determining factor of success will be completely reliant on the quality of the fish and sauce components. Use the best and freshest salmon you can, use high quality wine and vermouth, fresh and fragrant sorrel, good stock, and high quality oil for frying. California olive oil is what I would recommend, but a thought that I've had that I have never had answered is whether or not Troigros uses a neutral oil. Grape seed oil would not impart flavor on the salmon, so it could also be an option if one does not want olive oil flavor imparted on the meat. But grape seed oil is a lot more expensive than any other oil, so do as you wish.
It's a spendy but simple recipe that will impress anyone who eats it. It is a classic and defining dish of French culture, and one that is certainly worth trying.
*For visual reference, watch Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown Lyon episode, or Chef's Table Troigros episode, or search youtube.
bon appetit
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