Sole with asparagus and rhubarb

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 8 sole fillets (or plaice or pangasius)
• 50 ml olive oil
• Sea salt and pepper from the mill
• 500 g white asparagus
• 1 pinch(s) of sugar
• 20 g butter
• 800 g rhubarb, cleaned and diced
• 8 tsp brown sugar
• 100 ml orange juice, freshly squeezed
• 1 vanilla pod(s), only the pulp, 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 star anise
• 400 g romaine lettuce
• 20 g clarified butter
• 1 pinch of nutmeg
• 200 ml jus (poultry jus)
• 1 tsp vinegar (sherry vinegar)
• 30 g butter, cold

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 1 hour

Cooking meeting recipe from 05.04.08

Peel the asparagus and trim 10 cm of the tips, reserving the rest for another purpose. Cook the asparagus tips in salted water with a pinch of sugar and a knob of butter until tender, then keep warm in the asparagus stock. In the meantime, trim and remove the strings from the rhubarb, dice 600 g of the rhubarb, and cut the remaining 200 g into sticks. Melt the brown sugar in a shallow saucepan and deglaze with the orange juice. Add the vanilla seeds, cinnamon stick, and the star anise pod. Sprinkle in the diced rhubarb and cook, stirring, for about 10 minutes until soft. Remove the cinnamon stick and star anise. Purée the rhubarb and liquid with a hand blender until smooth. Let the sticks simmer over low heat until soft. Remove the asparagus tips from the stock, drain well, and stir into the rhubarb. Remove the tough outer leaves from the lettuce, quarter the heads, wash thoroughly, and spin dry. Then sauté in a non-stick pan in clarified butter and season with salt, freshly ground pepper, and a pinch of grated nutmeg. Allow the poultry jus to reduce slightly. Stir in the sherry vinegar and season the sauce to taste. Stir in small flakes of cold butter. Season the sole fillets with salt and pepper, place them on a baking tray greased with olive oil, and bake in the oven at 120°C for 30 minutes. Pour a glaze of jus onto each preheated plate. Arrange the asparagus and rhubarb vegetables on top and top each with two sole fillets. Place sautéed lettuce leaves alongside and garnish with star anise and edible flowers, if desired. Serve with a rice mixture.