Pike Montebello

Ingredients

• 1 whole pike, medium-sized
• fish forcemeat (farce à poisson)
• fine cream forcemeat (farce fine à la crème)
• sole fillets, flattened and trimmed
• truffles
• white wine
• aromatic vegetables (mirepoix)
• rice or semolina
• shrimp tail croquettes
• soft roe barquettes
• crayfish, trussed
• velouté of fish (velouté de poisson)
• anchovy butter (Beurre d'anchois)
• oysters, poached and trimmed

Instructions

1. Fill a medium pike with fish forcemeat. Skin two-thirds of the pike on one side or both sides, depending on how it will be presented (on its side or belly-side down). Mask the exposed flesh with a layer of fine cream forcemeat. Completely coat the forcemeat layer with flattened sole fillets of matching dimensions, larded with truffles.
2. Braise the pike in white wine on an aromatic vegetable base (mirepoix), covered, to keep the sole fillets white and tender.
3. Present the pike on an oval base of rice or semolina. Arrange around it a garnish of flattened shrimp tail croquettes, barquettes of soft roe, and trussed crayfish.
4. Serve with a fish velouté (silky fish sauce) finished with anchovy butter, supplemented with poached and trimmed oysters.