Hang Onto Your Silverware, This One May Make You Woozy

A food and wine lover never forgets her first pilgrimage to France. Mine was in 1972, and it served to crystallize in me the determination to devote my life to the pursuit of flavor.

The expedition was shared by a friend, Elaine Kohut. We rented a typically powerless small car and tooled our way from Paris to Provence, enjoying many adventures, some of which included revelatory meals. But only one dining experience actually brought me to tears of joy at its conclusion, and this was at Troisgros in Roanne.

I had read in awe about the degustation menu, starting with larks’ liver pate with an intriguingly bitter edge from the larks’ diet of juniper berries. The velvety texture resulted from the gentle technique of heating the terrines, removing them from the oven and then wrapping them in heavy blankets to cook overnight by indirect heat.

I anticipated that food so lovingly prepared would be extraordinary beyond anything I had ever experienced. But nothing had prepared me for the thrilling intensity of the signature dish, Saumon a l’Oseille (Salmon with Sorrel). The moist, rich salmon, cloaked in a fish stock-embued cream sauce, was magically lightened and enhanced by an exciting counterbalance of acidity from the flecks of bright green sorrel, also known as sour grass.

It was so stunning, in fact, that I dropped my fork. Within moments, the waiter appeared with both a large plate containing a clean fork and an amused if somewhat supercilious smile and charmingly informed me that there was no need for concern because there were many more forks in the kitchen.

He seemed decidedly less amused, however, when I proceeded to subject the second fork to the same fate as the first. I managed to hold onto the third fork long enough to polish off every last morsel of the fish and used an ideally flat sauce spoon designed by Jean-Baptiste Troisgros, the founder of the restaurant, to consume every bit of the sauce.

Over the years, I have occasionally re-encountered salmon with sorrel in other restaurants and wondered if it had been the newness of the experience that had made it so memorable, because no subsequent version ever caused me to come close to losing my grip on the fork.

But when Jean-Baptiste’s grandson Claude opened his restaurant, CT, in New York, I finally had the opportunity to rediscover and understand the dish, not only as it had been, but side-by-side with Claude’s updated, lighter and even more brightly flavored version.

When asked how this wondrous balance of flavors had been conceived originally, Claude explained that the Troisgros family has a particular passion for acidity.

This was fascinating to me, because I realized that often I find something missing from an otherwise well-conceived recipe and that it is most probably the enlivening acid component.

I brought Claude my cherished signed menu from Troisgros, and we both laughed with disbelief when we saw the price of the six-course degustation menu from 23 years ago: 65 francs (about $13). Claude’s wry comment: “It’s gone up a bit since then.”

Saumon a L’Oseille CT

Decor:

4 green onions

4 medium potatoes (preferably purple)

Sauce:

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup water

1 medium carrot, coarsely chopped

1 medium onion, quartered

2 cloves garlic

Bouquet garni (thyme, parsley and sage, tied together or wrapped in cheesecloth)

2 stalks celery, coarsely chopped

2 teaspoons tomato paste

2 cups fresh sorrel, washed, stemmed, center veins removed, then torn into 1-inch pieces (see note)

4 ounces (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened

Salt, freshly ground coarse black pepper

2 large salmon steaks (about 2 pounds total), bones removed, cut 1-1/2 -inches thick and sliced into halves

Olive oil

To prepare decor, trim roots and most of green from green onions. Use sharp knife to make several long cuts to within 1/2-inch from green end. Place onions in ice water until shortly before serving. Boil unpeeled potatoes in lightly salted water until tender. Peel and slice. Set aside.

To prepare sauce, combine wine, water, carrot, onion, garlic, bouquet garni, celery and tomato paste in medium saucepan. Bring to boil. Simmer, covered, 20 minutes. Sieve, pressing well to release all juices. Discard solids. Return liquid to saucepan (there should be about 1/2 cup). Add sorrel. Over very low heat, gradually whisk in butter until incorporated. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and keep warm.

Salt and pepper salmon. Brush a little olive oil on skin sides. Place in nonstick pan and cook over medium heat 5 to 6 minutes per side for rare, 6 to 8 minutes for medium. (Claude and I both find that the salmon is more moist if it is cooked until center is slightly translucent to just opaque.)

Place each piece of salmon on plate. With tip of knife, make small hole in center of skin side to insert green onion. Curled white section will have appearance of streamers. Arrange potato slices alongside salmon and spoon sauce over potatoes and around plate.

Yield: 4 servings.

Note: Sorrel is available at some larger supermarkets and specialty markets.